Behind the Art: The World Tree Series

Many artists have themes that work their way through their art as the years progress.  One such theme for me is the four seasons.  In the spring of 2011 as I waited for my second son to be born Spring in the World Tree came to me.  A robin's nest with bright blue eggs surrounded by a flowering tree.  At the time of course it was a drawing that waited in my sketch book while I birthed and bonded with a new baby.

When the time came to make a piece (probably a year or so later if we are being honest) I began work on Spring.  And when it was completed I thought it would be great to create a series of four, one for each season and each one featuring a different bird.  The World Tree, Tree of Life or Yggdrasil in Norse mythology is a fairly common image in popular culture.  What I wanted to explore in these pieces was capturing the essence of each season, along with the essence of a universal tree as it passes through a yearly cycle.

Spring: birth, stirrings of sap, awakening, colour's return...

Summer: Abundance of green, buzzing energy, wild and unruly lushness...

Autumn: Abundance of harvest, bright red apples, leaves turning and falling, fading warmth...

Winter: Grey silence, cold, a whiteness contrasted by the evergreen's promise of Spring....

And the cycle begins again.
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JJ