Jennifer Haney | Tree Song

PRESS RELEASE

  Untitled

 

Jennifer Haney is holding an exhibition of Monotype, Etching and Colour Viscosity Prints, TREE SONG, Oct. 21st to Nov. 3rd 2015 at the Ottawa School of Art (market area) 35 George St. Ottawa. Vernissage Oct. 22nd 6-8 p.m.

 

Inspired by a love of nature and the images of ancient trees around the world, she chose this theme for her mentorship with artist Rob Hinchley. This is the first of a projected series.

Three primary sources of inspiration are the magnificent Angel Live Oak of South Carolina with its enormous and expansive gnarled boughs and branches weeping Spanish moss; a second ancient live oak near Gainesville Florida; with the third, a centuries-old London UK Plane Tree, its dark and empty branches silhouetted against the bleak winter sky.

 

These impressive and unforgettable natural giants of nature have withstood the ravages of time, surviving, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and importantly, human interference. Each remains today rooted in its natural setting – a beautiful work of art.

 

The exhibition includes dramatic white and black monotypes with images of floating ghostly shapes – unpredictable imagery resulting from combining techniques of printmaking with monotype inking designs. Other prints in the exhibition include etchings, sugarlift and aquatint, and abstract colour viscosity etchings inspired by the famous Angel Live Oak.

During the process of trying to capture the essence of the ancient trees, something exciting occurs for the artist as the original design takes on a life of its own morphing into a surprise abstract print! This is particularly evident in the colour viscosity etchings.

 

The prints are both representational and abstract. The artist enjoys the spontaneity, chance and element of surprise in printmaking as she explores and experiments – often with colour – never knowing what will appear when finally peeling the paper from the printing press!