Ten years ago my art professor told me "If you are having
trouble coming up with an idea, think about something that interests you, research it and from there ideas will come."
This strategy proved to be true for me. I've always been attracted to Birch trees but felt unfulfilled when just simply drawing
or painting a tree or two. So I took her advice and did a little research. One thing I learned that immediately
stood out was that long ago the Birch bark was often removed and used as a surface for writing. I found irony in this
because Birch bark always reminded me of newspaper due to its white background and randomly scattered markings. I discovered
this little known fact might be the catalyst I was looking for to help me create. Somehow I wanted to recreate that
beautful image I was so attracted to while making that historical connection. I kept returning to the newspaper image
when it finally came to me: What better and unique way to create the image than the use of newspaper, the ultimate surface
for writing. And so began my ten year obsession with Birch trees.
At first, the trees were all placed in a straight line.
They appeared branchless, topped with a golden shimmer of autumn leaves and the only visible light was from a town on the
horizon. I remember being intrigued by Whistler's painting "Nocturnal Blue and Gold". I wanted to capture the
essence of a dark night when your eyes adjust to your surroundings and you can make out the objects right in front of you.
I went on to make so many of these paintings with such subtle differences between them, they would probably go unnoticed if
I didn't point them out. Over the years I tried to purge these trees from my sysytem. I did this by creating Birch
forests using different mediums on a variety of surfaces. I painted with cardboard strips and India Ink. I painted
on closet doors and tiny glass pebbles and old windows. I made forests out of fabric and even metal strips. This
didn't work ans served only to enhance my fixation. The one thing I had never strayed from was the vantage point from
which I executed these paintings. It was time to stray. I started to do some pencil sketches playing around with
the placement of the trees. These sketches would eventually provide me with more insight than I ever would have imagined.
As I did these sketches I realized that my trees lost some of their rigidity, they grew visible branches and began to take
on personalities. I then noticed that a subtle light source was apparent in each sketch casting highlights and shadows
on the surrounding trees. Some of my sketches began to feel too much like landscapes. I never intended my pieces
to be referred to as landscapes, nor do I consider myself a landscape artist. I began to consider different perspectives.
I sketched the trees being viewed from the ground looking up, and then a close up from this angle. I felt liberated.
I had now moved from linear to interesting. My next challenge was to translate these pencil drawings into
paintings. It was also a time to venture out of darkness and into the light of different seasons. During the winter
months, I would get up some mornings before sunrise and find myself staring out the bedroom window looking down on the shadows
being cast by the moonlight onto the blanket of snow in my backyard. The soft fuzzy purplish blue and pink shadows
were so engaging to me. I wanted to capture the colors of predawn February in upstate New York.
Another change that my work has undergone is the surface
of the newspaper. The newspaper trees have become more textural and more believable as trees. The viewer make
not even make the discovery on their own. I find great pleasure in taking a piece of newpaper and and whiting out
areas to create the surface of Birch bark. The White Out leaves a nice textured surface when it dries and it also partially
resists watercolor paint. This combination helps create a rough (somewhat crusty) surface seen on some Birch trees.
My trees have evolved in the last few years, taking
the viewer from a dark linear forest to a variety of viewpoints, seasons and times of day. These are not landscape paintings,
they are mixed media collages about the trees and my relationship with them. I guess its okay that I will never purge these
trees from my system. I will just keep finding new and interesting ways to portray them.
