As a painter of the human figure, my interest in and feeling of connection with trees arises in part from their anthropomorphic and emotive qualities. I enjoy the correlation between their sinuous, jointed limbs and human anatomy; movement and feeling is often suggested in their static forms. For me they are powerful protagonists of the human condition. The physical presence of some of the great ancient trees can be quite overwhelming.
The medium of drawing is my preference, for its speed and immediacy, it allows me to respond very directly to the subject. I use charcoal, graphite, ink, lithographic crayon and conté. I generally make the work on site, concerned with one particular tree’s defining features in the trunk, roots and major branching. Other drawings, sometimes more ambiguous, are made in the studio, loosely based on work done on site. The studio drawings explore the interplay of observation, memory and imagination, and the suggestive power of pre-made marks on paper, like bark rubbings, from which the drawings usually develop.