Orchard in Bloom 1 Print

Orchard in Bloom 1: Paper Collage of Spring Blossom images, a series. The changing seasons delight me, spring and autumn might be my favourites, but seeing how trees change through the year is really the aspect of seasonal change I appreciate the most. Almost everywhere I've lived in Canada I've found old abandoned fruit trees planted by European settlers, and many are now left to grow wild. The shapes of trees pruned to fruit are unique, and trees that have been pruned then left to grow wild make the most amazingly complex and tortured looking tree shapes. This series of collages of orchards in bloom uses a variety of papers painted and coloured in different ways. Some of the trees are made of security envelopes, and some of a bark pattern I drew, scanned, and printed for this project. I've used a wide range of media in the coloured parts of this piece, crayon, pencil crayon, watercolour, graphitint paint, ink, acrylic, gouache, pen and pencil too. The assembly process in creating collages is the most fun part; once I've assembled papers with the colours and patterns I want to use, I move pieces around and contemplate, then I start cutting paper, then I juggle parts around again... I inevitably end up with lots of extra pieces, spare parts, which is partly why my collages tend to become series of works with a similar theme. I hope this image evokes a recollection of warm spring air scented with trees in bloom.