Discover Everyday Wonder

Over the past year, I've gotten more and more into drawing, particularly botanical drawing.  In the past couple of months, I've been bringing a notebook with me when I go for walk.   By drawing what I see, I've opened myself up to the beauty that is all around us.

Drawing plants needs very detailed observations because a slight change in a curve, the thickness of my stroke, or spaces between the leaves can render different results.

With this focused awareness, I realized I was ignorant of the wonderful details in every seemingly ordinary urban corner.  "Oh, this flower actually has black dots on its pedals!" "Wow, these two plants look similar, but their leaves have very different patterns of veins!"

For example, we have an oak tree in front of our Austin apartment. If you look from afar, it looks like the oak tree only has some ordinary leaves.

But if you step in closer and focus on one branch, you can see bead-shaped compositions in between the leaves.

And the most beautiful part is that the bead-looking part is not just a singular ball. It comprises a whole array of tiny leaves that are waiting to unfold into big leaves next to them!

Isn't it amazing how many magical details you can learn about the world if you just pay close attention to your ordinary surroundings?