Trees and tree men have long been a significant element in my work. The image of a human sprouting branches and becoming treelike is one I find oddly compelling. There are myths and legends of treelike beings in several cultures that I know of, but I think this originates back to Hieronymus Bosch and the tree man in the “Musical Hell” panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights triptych. When I was a teenager I had a poster of that panel on my wall, and later, when I lived in Madrid, I could visit the original (though not frequently enough, in retrospect) in the Prado.
Here, below, are 4 new images (done with the brush pen, my new drawing tool — see post below) that deal in some way with this theme. All images are 16.5″ x 14″, from 2011.
Bosch's Tree Man Goes Walking
The Tree Man Laughs
The Branch Manager
The Rise of the Man Tree
