Through an Artist’s Eyes: Painting the Rainforest

When I returned from my first trip to Costa Rica more than 35 years ago, I knew my life had changed. I enrolled in the New York Botanical Garden’s Botanical and Natural Science Illustration Certificate Program and began a new career combining my love of art with my fascination for the natural world.

While I was captivated by the Blue Morpho butterfly, there was one other rainforest creature I was determined to find—the Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas). With its brilliant green body, vivid red eyes, and flashes of blue and orange, it seemed almost too beautiful to be real.

I finally found one resting beneath a leaf near a small forest stream. Armed with my camera, sketchbook, and watercolor journal, I carefully recorded its colors, markings, habitat, and behavior. That little frog became much more than a memorable sighting—it became my very first serious natural science painting and eventually my business logo, a symbol I still use today.

Back then, photography meant waiting until I returned home to develop film, hoping a few images had turned out. When digital cameras arrived, everything changed. Suddenly I could immediately review my photographs and capture every detail with confidence. Combined with my field sketches, color notes, and observations, I had everything I needed to create paintings long after I returned home.

Many people assume my paintings are exact copies of a single photograph, but they’re actually visual stories built from multiple experiences. The famous frog in my painting wasn’t perched on that particular leaf. I combined sketches, photographs, and observations from different moments in the rainforest to create a composition that tells a more complete story of its habitat.

That creative process has become the foundation of my work. Every journey fills my sketchbooks with ideas, and every return home opens the door to new paintings. A butterfly I discover one year may eventually share a composition with a tropical flower I find years later.

For me, the rainforest isn’t just a place I visit. It’s where every new painting begins. Have you ever had a moment in nature that changed the way you see the world? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below.