I worked on the painting 'Paradise Snare' for nearly two years because I wanted to maintain intricate detail all the way to the back. I was curious about the intensity of full immersion in an idea. Investing so much time in a project becomes not just a moment but a whole journey - full of doubts and despair, determination and belief, disappointment and thrill. I wonder about what it is that drives passion, what it is that pushes us through self-doubt, what it is that makes us so curious - what makes us driven at all? After the painting was finished I used it to create a whole body of work, starting with collages and then developing them back into painting. The repurposing and evolving nature of the process seemed to reflect nature's own processes. I am ever drawn to plants as incredible creations of function, resilience, ingenuity, humbleness, and as our ancestors.​