It’s “stick season” here in Vermont, a uniquely beautiful time of year when the leaves have fallen from the trees and have blanketed the ground in golden shades of ochre, revealing the hidden beauty of bare trees - the individual shapes and twists of the trunks, branches, and twigs, and the intricate detail of their bark. This is the time when I discover so many new things to sketch and paint. I study the texture and colors, the way birch bark peels and curls, the carpet of lichens, mosses, and mushrooms taking up residence that go unnoticed during the summer when the woods are lush with verdant green, and in fall with its spectacular colors. One of my most favorite painting subjects is bare trees. Perhaps it’s the unveiling of this, their most vulnerable state, that appeals to me - it depicts how I feel when I present my art for all to see, as creating is a very personal process.
In the spring, when leaves begin to unfurl, these “sticks” can once again hide and take a back seat to their more flamboyant elements, while undercover, nature quietly creates its next works of art.