Many people have asked me over the years to explain the Red Tree that so often appears in my work, to describe its meaning and purpose. It’s not always an easy question to answer because the Red Tree has served many purposes for me.
On the most basic level, it has served as a focal point in my paintings, drawing the eye to an area around which everything in the scene revolves. The flaming red crown of the tree is almost like a small sun with the other elements in the painting swirling in their own revolutions around it.
Or I sometimes describe it as a symbol for the individual being, one with which the viewer, myself included, can hopefully find common ground so that they can see themselves in the circumstances of the scene. It is an actor in this definition, performing a part for an audience.
Or it is a world symbol. The Family Tree. The Tree of Life.
And sometimes it is just a tree, a simple element in nature that we all see every day but perhaps don’t really notice the significance of the part they play in this world.
But in my mind the most important part that the Red Tree plays for me is as an intermediary between my inner world and the outer world. It is my ambassador, my envoy, who acts as a welcoming figure inviting the viewer into the world portrayed on and beneath the surface. It acts as greeter and a guide, an often warm presence that reassures the viewer that it is safe to enter. I think the new painting at the top is a perfect example of this definition with its welcoming stance, almost like it is opening a door for one to proceed into the rich golden fields beyond.
Fittingly, I call this new 30″ by 40″ painting Envoy. It will be part of my June show, Native Voice, at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.
Redtree Times 