Bouquet of Forest

A Bouquet of Forest - in Progress

I’m fascinated by the way our memories hold onto places rather than just moments, how a patch of bush you wandered through years ago can feel as vivid as yesterday. With A Bouquet of Forest, I wanted to capture that feeling: the quiet wonder of native trees, the way leaves overlap and sunlight dances on bark. Imagine gathering a handful of forest fragments, twisted roots, tangled vines, mossy nooks, and tucking them into a vase as if they were delicate wildflowers. That playful idea drove me to recreate something familiar yet wholly unexpected.

Roots and Waterfall detail of the drawing Bouquet of Forest

When I sat down to draw this piece, I wasn’t thinking about making something “perfect.” I was thinking about the way my fingertips remember the texture of a leaf I once held, or the hush of wind when I stood beneath a canopy of kahikatea. My intention was simple: to give viewers a chance to lean in, to get lost in the quiet tangle of branches and shadows, and to feel that same sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. It’s a little like whispering to the forest, “I see you, and I want to keep you safe.”

If you, like me, have ever felt most alive in the company of native bush, whether you’re hiking, sketching, or simply pausing to breathe under the canopy,you’ll find pieces of your own story here. To me, A Bouquet of Forest is more than ink on paper; it’s a small reminder that our wild places are woven into who we are and deserve our protection every day.