During February and March 2022 I combined some exercise cycle rides with stopping to photograph trees, particularly oak trees, against the setting winter sun, and especially because they were still without leaves, skeletal. So began my Tree Silhouette project. I was interested more in the shapes and patterns of dark and light than I was in the identity of the trees themselves. I processed the photographs into contrasty B&W to draw out the calligraphic shapes of the tree branches. In the drawings I wanted to take this further and move away from the original recognisable tree image, yet indicate a bit of 'treeness' nevertheless : simplifying, exaggerating and making conscious the background shapes as much as the tree shapes themselves. I found it difficult just to stick with drawing in black and white so a bit of colour has seeped in.
