My last name for most of my life was Herron, and growing up in Florida, I would see the bird quite a bit. I think I took their beauty for granted (I would have preferred a connection to a more showy bird, like the flamingo), but for the past several years I've come back to these enchanting, dinosaur-like creatures in awe.

I started this family crest series after loosing a friend this summer to the ocean. Honoring the beauty and brevity of life and hearing about his passions at his memorial gave me courage to marinate in some of mine and paint these birds.

A painting inspired by the Mary Oliver Poem of the same name:

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rainare moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

There's something to be said about relaxing and letting go of fear's impulses. It helps us rise to the surface - in water, in painting, and in life. I wanted to capture that peaceful space when fluid, transitory water supports us, as a metaphor for learning to rest in the middle of life's shifts and transformations.

You can purchase a print of "float" in a wide range of sizes at Minted.com.

I traveled to India (Mumbai and Delhi) after I graduated from Art school and was enchanted by it's vibrancy. 

Ever since I took my chicken "Harvey" home from our third grade incubation project to live in my sandbox in the suburbs, I've had a love for these amazing creatures. My love has been rekindled as I've watched friends building coops in their urban back yards.

The penguin home is by far the place I linger the longest in our local aquarium. One year my husband got me a "penguin encounter" for my birthday! I sat with a room full of penguins (who, to my absolute joy, loved me because I was wearing red patent shoes! mmmm, dinner!) 

You can purchase a print of my penguin painting at Minted.com in four different color ways and a wide range of sizes.

I wanted to capture the light and warmth from memories of growing up on the gulf coast of Florida. As children, we would play in the ocean, and look to the shore to see the adults laughing on lawn chairs.

You can find a print of "Ada" at Minted.com in four different color ways and a wide range of sizes. I painted "Ada" to pair well with "James"

I wanted to capture the light and warmth from memories of growing up on the gulf coast of Florida. As children, we would play in the ocean, and look to the shore to see the adults laughing on lawn chairs.

You can find a print of "James" at Minted.com in four different color ways and a wide range of sizes. I painted "James" to pair well with "Ada"

Peonies are such extravagant flowers and so very fleeting. This spring I had the idea to paint them once every year to mark their arrival, spring's renewal and the passing years of my life.

You can purchase prints of Peony Bottle in a wide range of sizes at Minted.com.

I was immediately drawn to the sentiment of Ms Alcott's words sourcing beauty from love. I wonder frequently about the nuances of beauty as a designer and observer and particularly like the definition that links it back to love. I hope I'll grow old in that kind of beauty.

ou can purchase prints of "Love is a Great Beautifier" from Minted.com in a wide range of sizes.

Mary Oliver ends her poem Wild Geese with these words: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” I love the idea of my “Family of Things” series spurring the imagination of young ones and grown ups alike, showing a bit of the magic of our world, divided, like family units, by the landscape: Woodland, Savannah, Northern and Southern poles.

Mary Oliver ends her poem Wild Geese with these words: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” I love the idea of my “Family of Things” series spurring the imagination of young ones and grown ups alike, showing a bit of the magic of our world, divided, like family units, by the landscape: Woodland, Savannah, Northern and Southern poles.

Mary Oliver ends her poem Wild Geese with these words: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” I love the idea of my “Family of Things” series spurring the imagination of young ones and grown ups alike, showing a bit of the magic of our world, divided, like family units, by the landscape: Woodland, Savannah, Northern and Southern poles.