TATIANNA M. O'DONNELL, S.C.A.
2008 EXHIBITION of OIL PAINTINGS OF TREES AND ROOTS
Salmon Arm Gallery of Art, Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
April 5th to April 26th, 2008
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"Autumn" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
When I look into the forest, I see individual trees. To me, they are like people. I think of them as souls in the landscape, standing sentinel over the earth, rooted to the land on which we live. |
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"Bear Valley Tree" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
I realise that I have a lot of trees inside me from all the years I had spent in the forest. From the time I was very young, I remember wandering in the forest, walking on pine needles, breathing in the air and regenerating my soul. The trees have always been a part of me. |
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"Spring Thaw" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
My paintings explore the connectedness of man to all living things. We may not be able to physically see the connection, but it is there and it is vital to our survival. In a similar way the roots of trees are not always visible above ground, but are an integral part of their being. |
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"Madeleine's Tree House" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
Trees are used for many functions. We cut trees down to heat our homes; to make useful objects and for dwellings. Trees have been used as playful objects as well, such as tree houses. Squirrels scurry from tree to tree; birds nest in their own type of tree house and find food in their bark. Insects rest in their roots and their leaves. Flowers blossom on them in the spring and drop seeds from their branches in the fall. This painting is from a photograph I took of Madeleine's tree house in England. |
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"Indigo Starlight" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
I have lived in the mountains and in the forest. I feel at home amongst the trees. I love the shadowy interplay of the branches and leaves; the shapes and forms created by trunks and limbs. And so, it is natural for me to paint trees in their various textures and spaces. On one of my trips to the West Coast, I collected sketches and photographs of trees and this painting developed out of my love for the trees I found there as well as the beautiful starry nights. |
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"Larch" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
The tamarack larch is on of my favourite trees. There are quite a few of them on our my acreage and they are a spectacular site in the mountains in the late fall when they are an amazing golden yellow. I particularly like them with snow on them. They lose their needles in the fall and grow fresh bright green ones in the spring. Like many trees, there are traditional medicinal uses for their roots and bark. This larch asked me to paint it. |
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"Moonlight" Oil on canvas 30 x 30 inches $1750.00 |
I approach my work intuitively. I am interested in interpreting the rhythm and soul of the tree. The spirit of the tree comes with me into my studio and is translated onto the canvas using oil paint. It is an exploration of shape, colour, line and texture. In this painting, I am enchanted by the magic of night and the moon glowing behind clouds and trees. |
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"Orchard Tree" Oil on canvas 18 x 36 inches $1500.00 |
I have been drawing trees since I was very young. I used to doodle them in the margins of my notebook at school. Some of my first drawings were of trees. I still have some of my old tree drawings from when I was young. The painting of this tree is based loosely upon a neighbour's apple tree. |
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"Pine at Dawn" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
The forest is a sacred place, where I can go to re-new myself; where my soul becomes young and fresh with the forest embracing me. At times, its beauty is overwhelming, a monolith and a powerful force. Without the trees, there is no forest. The mountains and valleys would be bare land, without animals, undergrowth, insects or flowers. In my memory there are many trees of my imagination as well as real trees. This tree developed from combining the two. |
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"Roots and Rocks" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
My paintings explore the relationship of trees in our threatened wilderness and the ephemeral quality of our own lives. The trees are painted with the branches and occasionally foliage above ground and the roots below or just above ground. I like to depict the roots - the way they hang on to the rocks of the mountains or twist above the soil. These are symbolic of the roots by which we are all connected to our past and to each other. The rocks and roots in this painting came from watching the natural world around me. These roots began to crawl around the rocks on the canvas before I knew it. |
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"Spring Blossoms" Oil on canvas 24 x 8 inches $850.00 |
I am a gardener and I love blossoms in the spring time. The tree goes through its cycles and looks just as beautiful in the fall. Using trees, I make reference to the cycle of birth, death and re-birth in life; to the connections between the spiritual and the earthly. My series speaks to that connection I/we have to the forest and the world around us and the balance between them all. |
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"The Sacred Tree" Oil on canvas 30 x 36 inches $1950.00 |
The Tree of Life is a universal motif. It can be found in almost every ancient culture - a symbol of the uniting of heaven and earth, spiritual nourishment, and even enlightenment. Trees have been the subjects of many paintings over the ages. I am often moved by music. This painting came out of a response to a piece of classical music. |
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"Twisted Winds" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
My tree series began with a single painting of a solitary tree. I began to envision a series of paintings - a forest of tree paintings; individual souls standing in a sacred place -a forest of a gallery. Some of the trees I now paint are now from memory. Some are based loosely on trees I have seen while hiking or sketching. This tree came from a gnarled old tree I once saw on a wind blown plain. |
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"Colours of Fall" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
The International Year of Planet Earth is a 2008 international observance, declared by the 60th United Nations General Assembly. . I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Planet Earth than with an exhibition of trees. |
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"Scarlet Sunset" Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches $2200.00 |
Each tree is sacred. Their souls represent our lifeline to the natural world around us and also to ourselves. The forest beckons me and I am just beginning to get to know it. Trees are treasures to pass on to our next generation. I dedicate these trees on canvas to my grandchildren. I sometimes wonder what our forests will look like in 100 years. |