Roots ~ alcohol ink on Yupo

After a very detailed batik it was time to get back to basics and create ink paintings that allow the inks to do what they do best...flow, blend, form the most fascinating organic shapes and are a perfect medium to render tree roots.

I grew up in a family that are avid outdoorsmen and hunters. I spent a great deal of time in the northern Michigan woods with them so I was around trees a lot. My dad's family owned a piece of wooded property in the eastern part of the state that served as their hunting camp. In the surrounding forest was a creek and some swamp land and I loved to venture down there and play. It was magical. Moss covered logs, lot of ferns, weird looking fungi and partially uprooted trees whose exposed roots created perfect dwellings for all manner of elves and fairies and anything else my young mind could conjure up. Since then roots have held a special fascination for me. They also remind me of the happiest family time I can remember. This small series is my homage to 'roots' in all its connotations.