By transcribing the unspoken language of the structural integrity and biological resilience of trees, my work explores the intersection of painting and the natural world as well as themes of representation and abstraction. Fifty Forests is an extension of this ongoing project and is inspired by the history of North America, ethnobiology, natural and cultural histories, environmentalism and ecology. It is a research-based project that involves site visits, interviews in the field and archival research, all of which results in suites of paintings that depict the remarkable details in the inner and outer surfaces of trees. The project is designed as a framework for reflecting upon the ancient history of the interspecies relationship between humans and trees, as well as a way to question what is at stake in this country’s ongoing struggle to reconcile our connection to nature with the use - and often exploitation - of our natural resources. Fifty Forests will take me to various forested and deforested sites on both protected and unprotected lands in each of America’s fifty states. The project pioneers the use of reclaimed earth pigments, produced from minerals like iron oxide pulled from US riverways, historically polluted by mining. Made both on site and in my studio, the paintings that emerge from this series are intended to portray the incredible diversity this country holds and are meant as a contribution to the urgent conversation around our changing climate.

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