“Who says you have to color inside the lines?”

I ran into my grandfather’s study clutching a coloring book page. Tears welling in my eyes, I showed him the page, a tiger in the grass. “I messed it up,” I sniffled as I pointed to all the places my crayons had traveled outside the boundaries of the tiger’s body. Grandpa looked at me and smiled, “Who says you have to color inside the lines?” Then he took my hand in his and wrapped my tiny fingers around a fistful of crayons. Together, we scribbled rainbow lines from corner to corner of the coloring book page.

My grandfather’s lesson helped me to fearlessly explore my creativity without the pressure of achieving perfection. After all, aren’t some rules made to be broken?

I am Terra Dawson, an artist, educator, environmentalist, and adventure seeker. Nature has been a never-ending source of inspiration for my artwork. My love of the outdoors continues to find its way into my artwork. I have trained as a scientific illustrator, taught art in public schools, led workshops and paint and sip parties, and through it all, my desire to create work that reflects the beauty I see in the world around me has only grown stronger.

If you’d like to learn more about me, view my works in progress, and drool over photos of my adorable pup, Porter, follow me on Instagram.