In this mixed-media artwork, I've created a painterly rendition of the state of Illinois inspired by the state's nature-derived symbols. Here, impasto applications of paint assemble in swirling layers, a nod to the multicolored layers of fluorite, the state mineral. Completing the piece is a slightly textured ground rendered in various blues and greens, a subtle reference to the blue-green leaves of big bluestem, the state prairie grass.