Betsy LeVine is a painter, photographer, gardener, hiker and mama living in Portland, OR. You can view more of Betsy's work at betsyart.net or follow her on IG @betsylevineart.

A note from Betsy: I created this piece in 2012 at age 31 during a months-long sabbatical during which I road tripped solo across the country and ultimately began my lifelong painting journey. I spend a lot of my life glasses-off, gazing with my nearsighted eyes at the details of plants and fungi that call to me on walks through neighborhoods and hikes in the wilderness, and this desert wildflower (likely globe mallow) was one of the first I decided to commit to canvas. This piece and this series represents a time of intense self-discovery and a freedom that I did not quite understand (this is said now coming from a place of having two children and finding the amount of effort needed to carve out painting time on any given day immeasurably huge). I am ever grateful for the dedication to painting I was allowed during that time, and for the art that erupted out of me in the following years.