Colored pigment ink on 9"x12" Bristol Board. 2008. Mauldin Tree Farm
In the autumn of 2008, I picked up leaves from the road, on my walk along a tree preserve in Mauldin, South Carolina. I gathered enough leaf samples to draw at least a dozen illustrations. What attracted me most to these leaves were the uneven fall discolorations, blemishes, rot and tears. I thought such imperfections looked so beautiful. I called them Perfectly Imperfect. The scene on the left, was my Father-in-law's breakfast table which I converted to my temporary drawing desk. Not once did he ever complain. On a small cleared area of the table, he set his cereal bowl and ate his breakfast as we talked about family, his grandchildren, trees, chipmunks, birds and life in general, while I drew. The wooden bison seen on the table is one of the many hundreds of woodwork he has done throughout the years which includes furniture, spinning wheels, turned bowls, tools, hundreds of toys and wood carvings.
