As a working mama of two kiddos, we are always on the lookout for beautiful places to enjoy around New Jersey. Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, New Jersey, is one of these hidden gems. With 124 acres or open air, a historical mansion, and 2,000 specimen trees and plantings, the space is my favorite place to take a deep breath when things become too heavy.
I often rest and paint. One early fall afternoon in October 2025, I found myself observing a cloud of foraging bumblebees near beautiful anemones. They provided a respite of a quiet buzz that quickly became meditative when paired with their flight pattern from bloom to bloom.
For months, this one visit inspired four "colonies" of mini paintings of these interactions as I studied bumblebee behaviors. Inspired by Frelinghuysen Arboretum and my ongoing Natural Science Illustration classes for my Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) certificate, I became fascinated by these fluffy, industrious cuties. I continued to paint and learn about them for months.
Each painting is a lesson learned from observing bumblebees.
Fast forward to June 2026, when Frelinghuysen Arboretum accepted my application for their Art in Bloom show, my paintings were exhibited alongside a number of amazing local artists who shared a love of nature and blooms.
A special thank you to the team at Frelinghuysen Arboretum and Morris County Park for creating such a special show, opportunity for local artists, and moment for the community to come together and enjoy art and blooms together.
The originals from the collection are now available for purchase. Prints will be released over the next few months. Follow us on Instagram and join our email community to get updates!
Artist, Pearl Lui, will donate 20% of proceeds to the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, with a purchase from this collection.
Art in Bloom: Finding an Intentional Pause at Frelinghuysen Arboretum
As a high-achieving woman balancing a full life, finding a moment to slow down and take a deep breath is essential. In this blog post, New Jersey fine artist Pearl Lui shares a look inside her creative journey from a meditative afternoon at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ, to her feature in the fine Art in Bloom exhibition.
Inspired by the industrious flight of bumblebees and the delicate texture of anemones, Pearl blended her Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) natural science illustration training with her signature moody minimalist aesthetic. The result is a stunning collection of original nature paintings, designed to act as small-scale sanctuaries for your home. If you love luxury botanical and wildlife art on black backgrounds that brings the grounding, restorative beauty of the natural world into your design-forward space, the original pieces from this exhibition are now available to welcome into your collection.
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