“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.”
– Khalil Gibran
I see the poems the earth writes with trees. Winter or summer, lines of trunk, limb and branch share a stark honesty about life: They are not perfectly straight, and they are strong and enduring. There is an incredible beauty and grace to be found in the lines of a tree.
When viewed against the open sky, the tree becomes the landscape. The open sky becomes an empty canvas to paint upon. I express myself through colors, textures, visions and interactions between the tree and sky. I create unreal scenes, but find them grounded to earthly reality, through the recognizable skeleton of the trees.
This body of work is created solely using an iPhone camera and apps. The iPhone has given me new spirit of freedom and discovery in my photographic work. My connection to the lines of the trees was discovered through the spontaneous observation made possible by having the iPhone in my pocket. In addition, the simplicity of having few camera controls places all of my attention on how I frame each scene. Carefully composing the images in-camera, they are raw material harvested for editing. Later, in the editing process, the apps allow me to combine my love for the color and emotion of abstract painting with photography. I take the time to work with each image, seeing what it wants to become. I select colors, textures and effects which speak to me through the image. The final image is heavily affected by my mood at the time of creation, often taking twists and turns I don’t anticipate.
I listen to my heart through these treescapes. I see my hopes and dreams, emotions and struggles painted on the open sky. I am encouraged and grounded by the strength and grace found in the lines of the trees.
Within these images are poems that whisper to me of acceptance, resilience and possibility.
