‘All life is an act of letting go’
In a small private wood in Northumberland is an avenue of ancient beech trees surrounded by yews and pines. Their wounds, fissures, folds, burrs and bosses of scar tissue speak of their lived history, their creative resilience and the strength that is folded into and grows out of vulnerability.
My work is the consequence of a two-year intimate conversation with these trees. A dialogue carried out in pencil, paint, wax, fire, photographs, words and silence. Using a limited, muted palette and working on beech wood panels or with pieces of beech, I have tried to capture the organic, sinuous embodied presence of the trees; to show the beauty that is can be found in the healed scars and marks of time that is part of their graceful acceptance of beings-towards-death.
This work is part of my on-going exploration of the ambivalent relationship we have with impermanence and the cycle of creation and destruction. In a fast paced world that reaches for endless growth and perfection, I am coming to know, through my conversation with the trees, the potential of a slower, more embodied way of being that is at home with ‘imperfection’ and embraces the potential to be found in vulnerability and ageing.
On the 3 July OCA student Christine Partridge’s exhibition ‘A Quiet Obsession’ opens at Strathearn Artspace, Crieff. This is in essence Christine’s Degree Show as she concludes her study with OCA.
It will be a joint exhibition with Anne Gilchris, an artist also fascinated by trees, together they decided on the name ‘A Quiet Obsession’ – highlighting the silence of the trees and their own preoccupation with them. As Artists and curators both had to plan how best to present the work in the space. Christine made 1:2 scale model of the gallery and each produced 1:2 images of their work.
Reflecting on completing her final painting Christine wrote; I feel a little sad as it does mark the end of this part of my artistic journey. I do have some ideas bubbling away that I want to develop, threads that emerged as I worked on my major project but tucked away with note to self to come back to them. I have also discovered two more ancient beech trees in the wood I am working in and both are calling me to go back and work with them.
Christine’s show runs from 3-30 July, if you cannot make that show Christine will be holding a second exhibition at the Kinharvie Institute in Glasgow on the 26-29 August.
Featured Image:The Betrayal (Encaustic on beech wood, 65cm x 35cm)
View Christine’s blog here
12 thoughts on “‘All life is an act of letting go’”
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These are just too beautiful for words. The whole concept,relationship and conversations are something very close to my heart as I have done similar (though much less advanced!) series in my own special place,Sherwood Forest. I would love to see these in the bark as it were! Really,really well done!! I wish you and your trees great success!
I would thoroughly recommend a visit to this exhibition as the paintings have enormous presence in the flesh, the palette is extraordinary and some of them seem to glow with a sort of moonlight. It’s hard to describe but a lovely and very thoughtfully conceived show.
Good luck Christine! As Christine’s tutor for her Professional Practice, she has not only worked on some rich beautiful paintings but has moved away from the safety of her studio into a public sphere where she has and will be curating the space which fits accordingly to her personal concepts. Well done for making this shift. If you can please see this show.
I wish I could come and see this wonderful work, Chris. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. And you’re so fortunate to have access to a space that does it justice.
Your statement expresses your intent perfectly – very well done
I do hope the show gets the response it deserves, with sensible comments. At least nobody can say a bairn of five could have done it!
Congratulations Chris, it’s been quite a journey since you were doing Painting 2, Mixed Media.
Beech trees surround our garden and the sawn trunks of some that were taken down were turned into a ‘retaining wall’. The amount of fungi is stupendous and fascinating and their trunks are wonderful. I wish I could come to the exhibition, but as I would want to take all these paintings home, it’s just as well I cannot.
Well done and congratulations.
Very many congratulations on completing your degree and putting together what looks like a wonderful body of work. I love the poetry of your description of the work and am only sad I can’t get to see it (from Kent). A new phase in your artistic career is opening now and I wish you the very best for that. Do the OCA post features of alumni so we can follow your progress post-OCA?
Thank you for all your comments – with two weeks to go I am a real mix of anticipation & anxiety and am my head is full of ‘to does’!
Chris
Beautiful work. What a good idea as well to do a small space model of a gallery.
Christine, what a wonderful relationship with the trees.It echoes my own feelings, and at 89 years I feel a bit like them! Thank you for the beauty and best wishes for your show and for the future.
Congratulations on completing your degree Christine and wishing you the best of luck with the exhibition. I would really love to be there as I have watched your work develop during the ‘level 3 crit’ . Due to distance I wont be there and I hope you may make it available for viewing on-line.
I love the muted colours that you have used, you deserve success with your work and you have discovered your own style, which I envy, as I am only just starting year three. Congratulations!