Journey in Nature

This book takes a unique approach to exploring the joys of nature by combining beautiful floral paintings with pen and ink animal drawings. Companion passages to these works may be found throughout the book, skillfully hand-calligraphied in a variety of typefaces. The titles of several of the paintings make the viewer aware that a specimen of wildlife is concealed therein. You will savor the pages with the artist as your guide. Brendler has always been intrigued by the architecture of flowers. She likes to imagine herself walking around inside the flower looking at its structure or even surmising what the view might be looking out through the petals. She has a special interest in gardening and photography. From early spring until late fall, she walks along her trails, observing and photographing the insects, birds, and other creatures that move among the flowers. In the winter, she produces large acrylic paintings. The dining area of her home features a large wall that the artist has painted floor to ceiling. She has depicted a scene where the trees sway over your head and a red-tailed hawk is just lighting on a top branch. In another tree, a gray squirrel is hiding near its nest as the white puffy clouds race across the blue sky. At your feet are boulders along the Wilson River. A rabbit is crouching among the flowers and grasses as a monarch butterfly visits the bounty of the landscape. On the other side of the river, a horse grazes in the pasture, a fiddle player sits on a rock practicing, and in the distance are the Blue Ridge Mountains. While viewing the painting, you truly feel the presence of nature.