Ancient Sentinels

I'm sure you've noticed that I love to paint flowers. They are here today and gone tomorrow. I capture their brief moments of brilliance as a rare treasure that slips through my hands like water unless I take notice and catch it in a cup.

Trees aren't like that.

I'm in awe of really old living things. Just the weight of perseverance through the challenges of this world gives way to deep respect in my heart. 

Experiencing the death of an elderly loved one who has been there for us our whole lives is a universally shared pain. Though I often wonder if I'm the only one who cries when a large, old tree is cut down.

I live next to a road that is lined with ancient trees. They have been huge since I was a child. It isn't the first tree-lined road in this area. Two others I remember were cut down over the years. This road is the last.

This majestic avenue stands next to fields that were once irrigated regularly. This past year there was a massive surge of industrial buildings going in that don't require watering. Being cut off from regular indirect watering will result in a slow, sure death for these precious giants. 

So this is the back story of a project I'm working on. I've been shooting videos, making draft compositions and a new, for me, painting study of a tree. I'm very excited about this project because I feel very deeply about the subject. I want to show my appreciation to these natural icons in a tangible way. 

​Yes - we live in an ever changing world.  I appreciate the jobs and contribution to the local economy that this new industrial center will bring to my community. But I cannot take a pass on seizing something of lasting value from these majestic and colossi living sentinels.

This topic does make me a little sad. There's also another side of the story that gives me great joy. I cannot stop progress and don't even want to. Yet I CAN express, in a tangible way, the lifetime of inspiration and beauty I've experienced through these trees - through my painting. I'm thoroughly blessed by being able to acknowledge and memorialize their value.

Have you noticed the value of ancient things?  Maybe really old people!  Or traditions that have been meaningful to your life? 

Have you thought of ways you could continue their memory out of the blessing they have been to you? And if you don't mind, I would love to hear what ideas you're mulling over in the comments below.

​I encourage you to act on your ideas, no matter how small or large. You never know what treasures you may be passing along to future generations!