Settling Into the Forest
Watercolor
30 x 22 inches
2023

I like to sketch and paint the redwoods, especially individual trees that are unique and have history. These redwoods show the elements of weather: fire, habitat, drought, storms. My focus may be on the habitat, the designs and patterns in the bark, meandering trails near the trees, local flora. On each visit I find new stimulation and renew my respect for the natural environment.

Break Through
Watercolor
30 x 22 inches
2020

Break Through illuminates the redwood trees that have been burned and mutilated by fire. Looking up from the burned interior the patterns and sections of varied colored interiors are revealed. Seeing the green shoots and leaves coming from the top you know the tree is still living even though it is a shell of its former self.

Troubling Times
Watercolor
30 x 22 inches
2020

The redwood tree records the effects of fire. This piece also shows the environment of heat within the forest and surrounding this tree. Burning out the core of the tree is incredibly harmful but many times the tree lives and becomes a living statement of the devastation.