Stump #223, Monoprint, 35cm x 30cm

One-off monoprint — only one available

The Trees in Gallants Bower, opposite my Studio in Dartmouth, are part of my current group of study for The Tree Portraits series. This is home to a large number of mature Oak, Beech, Hornbeam & Ash Trees.

My Monoprints from the latter months of 2020 onwards were also further informed by the following literature; ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben, ‘The Uninhabitable Earth’ by David Wallace-Wells, ‘Gaia’ by James Lovelock, & Merlin Sheldrakes’s amazing ‘Entangled Life’, which expand on the relationship of Trees with Fungi (and other fascinating endosymbiotic relationships, such as Lichens.).

The latter in particular led me to start using a 2nd printed image from the original Monoprint (the ghost print), & then printing over these using handcut stencils made of biodegradable polyfilm (around the original outline of the Stump) with translucent White/Creams with Gloss extender. the ink on this print would then behave/look like the fungal mycelia reaching throughout any given Tree.