IN THE PRESENCE OF TREES

A colourful exploration of trees in nature

The paintings in this series were done for a two-artist exhibition in Stamford Arts Centre, through my membership with The Welland Valley Arts Society.

I have always been slightly obsessed with the beauty and majesty of trees and yet have very rarely painted them, so this was a challenge - and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My inspiration for these nature-inspired paintings is The Scottish Colourists, The Group of Seven (Canadian artists) and the Fauvist movements with their love of painting en plein air, their innovative use of colour, loose brush marks and unusual combinations of all three.

I set out to explore different mediums, starting with soft pastels and moving on to incorporate acrylic, collage, oil pastels and charcoal, always trying to keep that looseness and energy that comes from play. I hope you like what you see here.