Bare Naked Trees

Here are some samples of the paintings I created during the winter of 2022. Beginning in April, 2021, I began routinely painting from my Saratoga County studio each morning. Most of the world was on lockdown. Afternoons, I walked in Saratoga Spa State Park (SPAC). The bright sun, warmed and glistening against the white snow there. Under cover of bows along the Avenue of the Pines and drinking from Hayes mineral spring along Geyser Loop.

Painting; working through simultaneous feelings of isolation and contentment. Unconciously at the end of a deeply immersive experience. Painting has taught me to risk what exists from time to time. Particularly when feeling a loss of meaning..

Stark trees endure the winter as humans do. Each separated from the other by the cold reality of low lit days. Sleeping their feet freeze at night. just like ours. Bare branches reach for love from another through the bitter nights.

As seedlings they were close, but slid away or died when they were young. Survivor’s gain strength and grow differently from the others. We were each born to shine under the bright light of February. There are risks to shining. It is not for weak souls.

As humans, we try to cling to the ground like trees must. Unlike trees, we are free to leave one place and be in another, even on the modest of days. Humans bare families. We love them. We want the best for them, so we buy homes, take on cars, debt and jobs to afford them. We can tolerate the jobs, but often stay in one place too long out of necessity. We do this until we are numb. Immobilized by necessity and fear of the unknown.

Unknowingly, I had painted myself into a box and needed to paint myself out of it again. It took a while through the pandemic to find my place again. Ironically, I was lead to Spring Street that winter in Williamstown, MA. It is my new home.