Nature and math are the main inspirations for my art. I enjoy studying and working with the intriguing patterns, colors, and shapes found in nature. Patterns explored in math also interest me, including tessellations, the Fibonacci series, fractals and symmetries - bilateral, radial and inverse. I like to layer mathematical and natural patterns.

 

Starting with realistic drawings of birds, flowers, insects, and landscapes, I use those images to create abstract images. The bodies of most animals show bilateral symmetry, including the human body. Radial symmetry is regularly seen in plant and flower forms, snowflakes and some animals, such as the octopus. Spirals are shown in shell forms, weather phenomena and the form of the galaxy. Rhythm is apparent in the arrangement of leaves on a stem, and veins on the leaves.  Fractals show up in the branching pattern of trees. We see patterns of repetition in a flock of birds, the feathers on a bird, grains of sand, a grove of trees. Some patterns are more irregular such as ripples on water and the grain in a piece of wood. Sometimes the patterns are quite complex, other times simple and bold.

 

Brilliant colors in the natural world have always attracted me.  We see high chroma colors in the sunrise and sunset, in the flowers of many plants, on the feathers of birds and the bodies of insects. We see warm colored flowers surrounded by cool colored leaves. A flower will show subtle variations of color and value as light plays on its surface. A sunset reflected in a lake is a luminous visual experience as light shimmers blindingly off the water. These views inspire color in my artwork.

 

Creating art is a diversion for the mind that gives me a tranquil satisfaction. Nature and math are the inspirations for creating my art.

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"When I am in the landscape I am aware of the heightened senses, the harmonies in nature, the stripping away of the human noise and the strong atmospheric conditions that create the breathtaking dramas in the big skies." - Salley Allen