I started painting birds with my mom when she lived amongst the hills of Mpumalanga, South Africa. She was a painter and her wild 8-hectare garden was her reign, populated by birds and flowers of every color, size and shape. Kudus and bushbucks could be fleetingly seen at dawn in the tall grass and tropical birds would come to feed off the pawpaw (papaya) tray strategically placed on my mom’s veranda. This way she could admire them from behind the large sliding glass doors