Not down in the South of France

The stronger tree shapes in this print led to conflict within myself because I wanted to show the dominance of the trees as I first saw them. However within minutes of being under the tree canopy I noticed the lattice of lichen on the branches of every tree. So although the trees are dark brown in the print they are also transparent, allowing the lichen to be seen through the trees on closer inspection. It is this closer inspection that I want to share with the viewer.

Since August I have been struggling to develop an image that gives me the soft shapes of the lichen juxtaposed to the spindle straight tree trunks. After many variations on the computer I felt I had to move into the practice before I could fully interpret what was in my head. I wanted the lichen to be in layers of colour and intensity against the strong shape of the trees themselves, but I didn’t want the trees to be overpowering. I wanted the final image to show the symbiotic relationship of lichen and trees to reflect the the fragile balance of nature and man.