My creative life has always been influenced by trees one way or another. Earlier University work so often reflected the year rings of trees as a leitmotif. I loved working on wood, either in on panels, or making wooden block prints.
(I can
feel the energy of trees and could not imagine living anywhere, where trees are absent. For goodness sakes, I have even strapped myself to a tree to save it from being felled unnecessarily! This passion for trees led me to start an indigenous nursery in Zululand.)
I find that I have turned towards trees again as a theme. Here I painted an old giant- leaf fig which grows in our garden. It has such character! The trunk is gnarled, textured, twits and turns, and providing shelter for a multitude of small creatures, from bats to bush babies. Its shear size demands respect! The intention is to paint important trees in my life, capture their beauty, their character, to record their symbolism or function....to treat them as portraits. This is only the start of what I hope will grow into a body of work.
