KevinSonger

Kevin Songer Nature Artist, Tallahassee, Florida

Hi. I'm Kevin, a nature artist who is sharing a two-fold wonder of nature through art. First, I am sharing how healing powers of wildflowers and native plants, illustrations and bioacoustic recordings of Mother Nature enable my body to explore another day.  Second, through sharing these artistic and sensory nature experiences I am spreading awareness of the nature just outside our doors, cars and city limits with hopes of creating symbiotic connections between people and nature, connections that will benefit both plants, wildlife, the cosmos and humans all together. My favorite genres are always evolving but include wood, torch, pigment, linocut, monotype, canvas, acrylic and vector illustration.   My intent is to keep sharing the beauty and design intricacies of Mother Nature.  
 
I do believe when people of the world connect with Nature's art on the web and in print they may be inspired to go outdoors and see for themselves.  I believe that once people are in the wilderness, exploring and taking in the natural healing of the earth they may want more. With exposure to nature there may come appreciation for the wilds and with that appreciation may come involvement in preservation, conservation and sustainability. And so much of my life's efforts are to encourage appreciation for Mother Nature through my nature art.

Although my body keeps unravelling (a connective tissue disorder) Mother Nature and the doctors keep me patched back together. As a degreed biologist I am drawn to complexities of the wilds. As a lawyer too, by education, I have come to learn that ecological awareness is much more effective than environmental regulation when trying to pass along a better earth to our children.

I've been drawing nature and plants since childhood and my avatar is a replication of a sketch of the world I drew when I was six years old, shown below.

My adult work focused on creative urban sustainability and following law school I designed and helped construct coastal area salt and hurricane resilient green roofs such as the Breaking Ground Green Roof in Jacksonville, Florida, for Starbucks in Main Street Disney, Orlando, as a salt tolerant, native plant green roof consultant on the King Edwards Hospital Green Roof, Bermuda and many other green roofs and living walls.

As my interest in native plants and ecosystematics grew so did my awareness of the power of nature. Native plants provided a career but they also provided a deep sense of peace, satisfaction and stress therapy when dealing with life's unexpected twists and turns.

In 2011 I experienced an unexpected aortic dissection, an event where my aorta tore from it's root in my heart down through my chest and abdomen into my legs. I can only describe what happened like being hit in the back and head with a baseball bat and feeling like a huge zipper opening inside my body. Several complex surgeries later I began life all over, from learning to walk to managing speech, memory and pain challenges. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the genetic based connective tissue disorder was familial. It wasn't until one of my doctors explained to me my dissection was due to my body's DNA structure that I had any idea why over the years I'd struggled with a variety of physical misfortunes. As part of my involvement with connective tissue awareness the Washington Post published a short article on my aortic dissection.
 
As if aortic dissection were not enough to deal with, in 2020 I was diagnosed with a tumor on my left kidney.  Because of the blood thinners I am on for my aorta I was challenged with consequential internal bleeding after the tumor removal operation.  Coping with all these maladies left me mired in PTSD until I found adventure, purpose, meaning and joy in art inspiration that Mother Nature provides.

Today I am a nature artist. Hiking in nature has been one of my most effective recovery therapies over the years, and I walk in State Parks, along the beaches, in the swamps and everywhere Mother Nature invites.
 
And so my relationship with native plants began a decade long journey of intimate study and appreciation of colors, textures, scents, sounds and habitat ecology filling Mother Nature's creative nature art palette. When I could not do much but lay and rest, I'd listen, sketch and draw.

My favorite genres are always evolving but include wood, torch, pigment, linocut, monotype, canvas, acrylic, vector illustration and bioacoustic sound recordings. I've recently compiled a sampling of my nature art on Fine Art America. Today I share nature art on social media such as my; Instagram page, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
 
Be sure to check out my awareness videos on YouTube including some really exciting Bioacoustic clips, free for all to experience the wonders of Mother Nature.  Be sure too to join the Florida Native Plants Art Group on Facebook to follow my regular nature art posts.

I am posting new material most days. Nature and art has given me so much healing. Though the doctors often joke that I should not be alive and those words sting, I find a redeeming peace in the hues, textures and sounds of Gaia. My intent is to keep sharing the beauty and design intricacies of Mother Nature. I do believe when people of the world connect with Nature's art on the web they may be inspired to go outdoors and see for themselves. I also believe that once people are in the wilderness, exploring and taking in the natural healing of the earth they will then want more. With exposure to nature comes appreciation for the wilds, and with that appreciation involvement in preservation, conservation and sustainability. And so much of my life's efforts are to encourage appreciation for Mother Nature through my nature art, and to share the healing powers of native plants freely given to me by Mother Nature. Thank you for your interest and patronage in helping me share the sounds, textures, colors and all the wonders of the natural world.  Best, Kevin Songer, Tallahassee, Florida.