The Trees of Life
Birth, fertility, death and renewal are the theme of these mysterious and imaginative oil paintings. The botanical images are drawn from leaves, flowers and fruit observed under the magnifying glass; and also from photographs of cells magnified by electron microscope.
Looking at nature under the microscope or through the telescope reveals how shapes and patterns have amazing similarities to others on a totally different scale - e.g. the branching pattern of the boughs of a tree, is found again on the twigs, on the veins of the leaf, on the veins of a human, in the river delta, in lightning, and so on. These all appear in the panels.
Click on the thumbnails below to view the full size image.
The old Celtic calendar is another theme which links the Trees of Life. In it, each of the 13 lunar months shared with a different tree the same initial letter and certain characteristics of that tree - its flowering, fruit or mythical associations. Together with the four seasons and midwinters day there are 18 panels to form a continuous cycle of the year.
Look also in the panels for the foliate face. This was a medieval concept of a face sprouting foliage, and was usually made of wood or stone. In recent times this has been referred to as 'the Green Man'. Here it is used to show the passage of time for man from his conception to death.
The panels visually confirm the artist's deep-felt belief that there is a beauty and oneness within the universe, and that there is a universality of patterns which repeat themselves on different scales with infinite variety.
The Cycle of the Trees of Life exhibition