Marcus Kittridge

Today I am highlighting Marcus’s renditions of trees that he handed in as part of his submission for assignment three.

Most of the works in this series were drawn in situ. Our winter was pretty cold this year, so I take my hat off to this! Looking at the work above, we are able to get a feeling for this almost vertiginous experience, and that is a huge success. The work of Robert Longo comes to mind here, as the tree and its pose in some ways, begin to simulate the human figure.
About the work above Marcus reflects: “I found this tree and it looked interesting from close up and looking skyward. It almost looks like three trees but the three trunks join near the base. As well as studying the form of the tree I tried to give a new view of a very impressive specimen”.

Imagined, and real foliage.

Both works above are approximately 11”x14”. Image 2 was once again, drawn in situ. I selected this work, because of the bold and confident marks Marcus has used here. Also of note, is the line that he has drawn around the branches, the tree here becomes quite fan-like. Indeed shapes often remind us of other things and there is always something to see, if you like, within forms. Image 3 was an imagined drawing. I would be fascinated to see how this tree looks now that it is spring! This drawing has a strong sense of light and dark.

I’m adding a few of Marcus’s own thoughts again here: “I was initially concerned that I had arrived at this point in the course at exactly the wrong time of the year. However, thinking about how I could use this to my advantage, I decided to concentrate on the trunks and the branches to get a real understanding of the processes involved in making and shaping a tree both in terms of the biology of the form and the aesthetic”.

I was struck by the composition in drawing 4 (as above). Often times students are concerned with what to say. The negative space in this work is strong, in that our view is held by the picture plane. I am reminded here of the work of Robert Moskowitz in particular his windmill works that he made in the 1980’s. It is important to remember that sometimes, what you leave out or what you don’t say (in this case, the negative space), matters just as much as what you are focusing on. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next in Marcus’s work!

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