Why I Create Palm Tree Art

As a kid growing up in suburban Canada, I was obsessed with Hollywood. I watched so many movies and red carpet events—spending time with Hollywood through the silver screen was all I ever wanted to do! Hollywood was calling my name—signaling me from a world away. My obsession continued to flourish. In certain shots of iconic films, I latched eyes on the palm trees lining the streets of Los Angeles. They were towering beacons of hope—they became a symbol for who I wanted to become, and they symbolized the highest ideal I could imagine for myself at the time—to live in Hollywood!

That North Star kept me going—kept a fire in me. And the 5-story-high giants were a daily visual reminder of where I wanted to be and, ultimately, how I wanted to live. Palm trees were a way out. They gave me hope when nothing else did. They gave me a reason to work hard, do well in school, and talk about Hollywood like it was always right around the corner for me. Palm trees were my ladder and my lifeline.

For ten years, I've been capturing palm trees and sharing their hopeful silhouettes.To me, they'll always represent how truly capable we all are of pursuing our dreams. Every chance I've had to photograph a palm tree has been an opportunity to reach one more person and hopefully remind them just how much they matter! For me, photographing palm trees is like photographing people, each one unique and different in their own special way—full of stories, life, and unending potential.