State Flower of New Jersey: Violet

2023

This captivating mixed media work layers bold, expressive floral painting atop a vintage New Jersey road map, creating a compelling dialogue between the natural and the navigational. Three vibrant violet blooms with yellow centers emerge from lush green foliage, their petals rendered in thick, gestural brushstrokes that contrast beautifully with the precise cartographic linework beneath. The flowers appear to grow organically from the geography itself, rooting the botanical imagery in a specific sense of place — the New York/New Jersey border region clearly visible beneath the composition. The technique demonstrates confident impasto-style application, with swirling, energetic strokes giving the petals a three-dimensional presence that lifts them off the flat map surface. The leaves are painted in varying shades of olive and deep green, outlined in dark ink to echo the map's typographic elements. Yellow stamens provide luminous focal points at each bloom's center, while smaller buds suggest growth and continuity. The interplay between the handmade and the printed creates rich visual texture throughout. This piece belongs to a celebrated tradition of map-based mixed media art that reclaims functional objects as artistic substrates, infusing geography with personal and natural meaning. The violet — New Jersey's state flower — is an intentional reference, grounding this work in regional identity and pride. The overall effect is both whimsical and sophisticated, evoking themes of belonging, rootedness, and the beauty found in everyday surroundings. Originals will vary from the posted image. Also available as a mounted print (not framed).