Violets

"Violets"
This is a sketch I did when I briefly went back to Japan in 2004.
It was a perfect time for violets there, I walked around everywhere
to photograph and sketch them. Boy, it was a busy trip...

Back in 1998, I started working for an art gallery/museum situated in a country side om Japan. There, somehow, I managed to get a job that I research and photograph local wildlife. I never had that kind job before, so literally every single day was
filled with some new learing.

Spring came and early bloomers were started coming out - including violets. What I didn't realize at that point was that there were about 20 different species of violets in the field I was covering. Every time when I found a new (to me, that is) violet, I buried my head in several encyclopaedias to identify which kind it was, but
it was certainly a great challenge!

While I was struggling, something happened to me. I was completely hooked by this
tiny plant! I joined some violet societies, domestic and international, and started driving out far just to find violets I hadn't come across! Crazy? Yeah, mabe I am :-)
So, here I am as a violet enthusiast, photographing and sketching violets everywhere and anywhere I can.