I soon settled on painting Chicago´s bridge structures, viaducts, and roadways because of their perspective, contrasting values seen in the shadows beneath, and the rhythm of their repeating columns and supports. I especially appreciated the character of these structures and often traveled around the city seeking sites of interest to paint. I enjoyed painting the utilitarian architectural underbelly of the city as a contrast to the celebrated famous downtown structures, and as an awareness of the work horse structures this industrial city was built on and still uses. I also appreciate and enjoy painting the time worn textures and patinas found on these roadways and bridges. In 1999 my inspiration changed and evolved when I took a watercolor class I teach at Columbia College to the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago. While my students painted, I realized it might be interesting to depict the tropical plants along side the mechanical and architectural structures found within the conservatory building. My goal was not simply to paint pretty flowers and tropical plants as one so often sees in watercolors, but to explore this realm of plants within their artificial man made environment. What was at first an exploration of contrasts between flora and man made structures evolved through the length of the series into subtle surreal representations of flora, often imbued with animalistic and at times anthropomorphic qualities.