so this january i decided to take the plunge and join the botanical artist guild of southern california.
its a great group that sponsors classes in traditional botanical illustration like the ones i took at the huntington gardens... one on pinecones and using fibonacci sequences to identify the spirals to help you draw them and the other was all about succulent plants, which i love because they have crazy textures and bizzare shapes. besides learning a bit about botany, (for example this pl... read more

at the end of the LA decom, one second it was on me, the next it dissapeared. Poof.
i made it for burning man and it matches my coat which i also made. please help me find it!
thanks!!!

volumes have been written about this famous painting that sits in the uffizi in florence, where i saw it 3 years ago. it is an allegory of spring: with mythological figures identified as (right to left): zephyr running after the nymph chloris, who transforms into flora, goddess of flowers, in the center is venus, goddess of love, queen of her realm, with a blindfolded cupid abover shooting his arrow to the three graces, and the god mercury. the painting was supposed to have been commissioned ... read more

i've got to admit, i'm a sucker for the romance and classicism of the victorian period of painting. waterhouse's images are so lyrical. those repressed victorians couldn't get enough of the sexy scenes he painted from greek mythology. this particular painting tells the story of hylas, hercules' handsome sidekick, who after sailing with the argonauts, reaches the island of cios. he gets sent to search for water, and instead gets lured into a fountain by several beautiful skinny-dipping nymphs,... read more

one of the most beautiful paintings ever at the louvre, you can see the cracks in the wood panel. this image is full of symbols, which is why i love it so much. instead of a box, she's touching an urn which is closed, the red (evil?) one in the background is open. eva prima pandora is written above her head - the parallel between eve and pandora was a favorite theme in the 16th century. notice the serpent curling around her left arm while she rests on a scull.