Probably the oldest painting in my current portfolio, I created this piece at the age of 18. I remember being tired of my usual mediums and decided to experiment by using oils on wood (both of which I had never used before). The panel of wood I naturally gravitated towards had these mesmerizing patterns already present within wood. I desperately wanted to highlight these patterns and create visual unity between the medium and subject matter.

I started by collecting images of severed tree trunks, going back to the source of the medium I was going to be painting on. I spent weeks wandering my local hiking trails collecting these. I then printed out all of these images of tree stumps in a variety of sizes and affixed them onto my wood panel. I then painted upon these images, fusing the medium and subject matter together.

I am that, I am that, I am. 

I am the trees, I am the ground, 

you and I are not separate, severed, 

but one, 

singular, connected, whole.