TSoT = The Story of Trees
A few months had disappeared since my last blog and I actually considered stopping my blog series about trees. I think to stop something is easier than disciplining oneself to preserve to the goal that winked initially. However, the educator in me is telling me to “practise what I preach”, so here I am working my way towards 50-plus tree blogs.
As you will see, the series of ten works which my school art teacher aptly labelled “Popcorn” drawings or “Popcorn” multimedia sketches (would be more correct) does present a little problem: they are too similar. So, I have decided to make these “Pop-corn” blogs a little like real pop-corn. I will make the work pop with various images of the same work.
I enjoy using Inkscape (which is an “open source” or free graphic programme) and you will see the tricks I got up to. I usually try to do a brief visual analysis of the work focused in the blog, but I think I may rather opt for impressions and “popping” ideas for these 10 blogs which lie ahead, because I may get caught saying the same things repeatedly, because of the visual similarities. (Perhaps I will try to focus on only one element of art or a principle of design for each of the trees?)
“Let us start at the very beginning, a very good place to start” as they say in the movies? Did not Mary Poppins sing it with the kids in the movie? Well, if Mary can be “Poppins”, then the trees may be “poppin” too.
During the latter part of 2020 I decided to make ten A5-drawings (or multimedia sketches) rather rapidly. I challenged myself to create 50 artworks which focused on trees within a two-month period. I was on a sabbatical, and it was time to pull out all the stops. The time for procrastination was over and I had acrylic inks which a friend gave me years earlier which I wanted to use, otherwise they would harden and dry up. So, with this mindset of not wasting, I tackled these 10 trees simultaneously; what I did on the one, I did on the other nine as you will see. The shapes are obviously different.
In order to add a few different “flavours” to the “Popcorn” trees, I opted for images of the work in an interior (www.canvy.com) and I used different filters. It is amazing what the programmes we have at our disposal allow us to do these days, I hope you enjoy what you see. I decided to find a list of popcorn flavours on the internet and to select 10 of these for the names of the trees; just to differentiate a little. The website I consulted is: Top 19 Different Flavours of Popcorn You Should Try - Crazy Masala Food.
The shape of this tree – which dominates the picture plane – reminds me of a home, a place of protection and warmth – where one is sure to find apple pie. Herman Hesse said, Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. (You may visit: The 27 Most Inspirational Quotes About Trees – Tree Clicks.)
May we look up and see the lovely sanctuaries which nature so freely gives us all. If you feel you need a closer connection with “Apple Pie”, you can look at the links I have added. Remember there is Art in your heart and let those virtuous ideas start popping.
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