The necessity of beauty in nature fascinates me every day. From the subtle camouflage pattern on a moth’s wing to the incredibly intricate way our human bodies work, it is impossible to wake up and not find inspiration at your doorstep. It is my intention, as an artist, to reveal the magic and mystery of a deceptively simple everyday world. It seems that many artists search for grand or complex experiences to feed their creativity, but this is often a distraction from what is right in front of them. For a year now, I have been learning to draw the human figure from life and it has been the most inspiring experience of my life (not to mention challenging). To take something that seems so familiar such as the human body, and put so much time and effort into its study has truly changed the way I see the world. When painting a person, it is not enough to just know the anatomy. One must understand interaction, environment, emotion, and many other subtleties. The ability to see and capture things like these cannot be taught academically. They can only be discovered in one’s daily life through relationships, work, community, nature, etc. Embracing the experience of the everyday world is essential to creating great art.