Tree Spirits

Old Tree Spirit

Who can forget Tolkein's description of "Old Man Willow?" The image is still alive in my mind ever since the first time I read the Lord of the Rings in high school. The idea of trees being alive goes way back in history and repeats in numerous cultures all over the world. Tolkein  made the most of the concept by creating the lively image of a character called "Old Man Willow."
In sculpture, carving wood is considered working with a 'live' medium in the sense that the wood an artist is using was once part of a live tree. Again, it has been accepted that a tree is alive, just like you and me which is why we tend to personify trees and other plants. We have various legends of The Green Man, Jack in the Green, wood nymphs and the list goes on and on. Whether trees have their own separate life or if they are part of a huge living entity called earth is debatable, nonetheless, thousands of walking sticks, tree stumps and old sticks have been carved up to look like the spirit of the tree. I believe the earth is alive so the trees that spring from it are alive as well. Most people 'feel' that the earth is alive and paleontologists can produce a sound argument that fits the definition of a living entity. We've even given a gender to the earth labeled Mother Earth. The association with the feminine has to do with all the 'births' the earth gives to us on a daily basis.
What's really interesting is how we have kept these ideas similar throughout time and various cultures. We know that nature heals us and makes us feel better opposed to all the concrete we surround ourselves with at work therefore nature is associated with play and concrete is associated with work. Whenever I hear the term tree house, I think of fun and that is what I wanted this painting to project more than a tree spirit or an old man. This painting is about fun, nature and play.

This painting is available on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261524785887?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649




This image is available on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261524785887?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649