I have been staying at the home of our friends who have been in France for a little over a year. Moving from the Isle of Man to the South of France has been an adventure which they have embraced whole heartedly and it is easy to see why. The plot of land their house is built on is surrounded on two sides by trees with a meadow stretching away from the house down to woodland.
Lichen and moss cling to the trees creating a decorative canopy that provide much needed shade in the summer whilst the dead wood provides fuel for the fire in winter.
Inspired by their way of life I have used the trees as my inspiration to create a print. The florescent green of the lichen has been my starting point and represents the bleached colours of the summer sun. The black of the upper print represent the strength of the trees and also the winter when the trees are used as fuel for the fire.
The overall impression I am trying to create is the extreme heat of the summer juxtaposed to the depth of cold in the winter months. The delicate moss and lichen which survive the extremes of heat and cold reflect the endurance of man to move and adapt to our surroundings and be part of the world we live in no matter where that may be.
I have made three prints. To produce the final print I have used layers to create a stronger image. This has been necessary because the print has been produced with hand pressure, using acrylic paint, block printing ink and a roller on an acrylic sheet.
The images still need a little work on them but I hope to do a little each morning before the sun demands I stop and take it easy. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.
