This tree was a sweet birthday gift.  From a loving wife to her dear husband.  

She deeply thought of the many things that are and have been important to him.  As I learned about him growing up in Hawaii, I knew the flowers needed to be from there and they all are.
In researching trees, there were some amazing shapes I got to sketch and learn about.  Hawaii is so nature rich.

With so many vegetation options in hand, it just needed to be a fully in bloom tree, at the top of its ripeness and age.  I love how full it shows, just like the life it's celebrating.

There are 18 icons.  Besides plumerias, hibiscus, and many other wonderful native plants. can you find them all?

The background is a rich purple with warm and cool tones throughout, a favorite color of this family.  

And here is the visual summary of this piece:

I've been asked if I am getting tired of these trees.  At first, I contemplated "should I? or maybe a little?" But the more I have thought about it, I definitely enjoy the process.  Coming up with a unique tree, charged with meaning, some hidden, and some obvious messages, is like solving a puzzle.  I love putting things that will never go together next to each other, blend them and find harmony somewhere in there.  These trees may look alike on the surface, but they are oh so different.  I have gotten to know some amazing people in the way.  I feel like their secret BFF.
So, no I am not tired of making them.

While the dark and white contrast has reminded mostly the same, these trees are one of a kind and the pictures just can't show how the background varies with the different light during the day.  

Most of all, I love getting to know the people involved in the piece and I have learned so so much about flowers, about trees, about icons, so cool! I am becoming an interpreter/inventor botanist.