Acrylic, gold leaf and metallic on bark, 26” x 5” x 2.5”, 2018, $600.00
Being taken by the beauty surrounding me outdoors is a long-time fascination of mine. I have collected rocks since I was a child. I also collect birds’ nests, wasps’ nests and seashells. I paint bark because I love the shape, texture and dimensionality of the pieces I select. I do not understand why it is generally regarded as detritus because I find it arres-ingly beautiful. I collected bark for years without an idea of what, if anything, to do with it. I decided to paint the bark to draw at-tention to it. I want people to see it as an object of beauty or be intrigued by it. I feel color helps convey that. There is much beauty in our natural environment that goes unnoticed and unappreciated, or worse, taken for granted and abused. By transforming the bark into jewel-like objects, I hope people will become aware of how precious our natural resources are. Painting the bark is a soothing, sensuous process. It might be like petting a cat, although I don’t have much experi-ence in doing that. I study each piece before I begin applying paint so that I can understand how it wants to be seen. The bark responds to the paint by moving and, occasionally, changing shape. It is a natural material that is unpredict-able.