
Lori Nelson-Clonts: Tree Dreams
January 23 – March 28, 2025
Opening reception Thursday, January 23 from 6 to 8 pm
Artist Statement
I grew up in Walnut Creek, California, where every square inch of the suburban neighborhood was under human control, but when I climbed my favorite Walnut tree in our backyard, I knew I was in a wild place possessed by nature alone. As a visual artist, trees are the most common reoccurring subject in my work. Like my friend the Walnut tree, they always faithfully provide nourishment for my soul, and satisfy my thirst for visual stimulation. Some trees I’ve painted, I revisit on a regular basis in my yard, in parks, or on the street where I have habitually walked with my dogs, their branches having been pruned to accommodate my path. Other paintings or drawings celebrate collections of trees, like forests or tree-lined trails, streets and paths. I continue to discover the intertwined boughs, variously textured trunks, flowering canopies, or the naked shapes of winter branches, by painting and drawing them. In winter, I am intrigued by the long shadows they cast, and the stark colors of the landscape they dominate. In Spring, their pink and yellow flowers are intoxicating and demand that I paint with exuberant colors.
In this exhibit, you will see some charcoal studies. Drawing was my first artistic expression and is very comfortable to me. I am compelled by how the charcoal feels in my fingers as I press it across a piece of paper, committing to a line or series of marks, and intuiting what movement is going to depict my subject the most accurately. The charcoal itself is made of charred willow branches, another gift among many, that trees afford us. Painting with acrylic is something I’ve been doing for about 13 years with regularity, and consider myself an eager student of this medium. I’m intrigued with the canvas as much as the paint. I enjoy the cloth texture under the paint and I often think about fabric design and textiles when I’m working. Many times, the choices I make are design oriented.
I chose the title of this show, Tree Dreams, because trees have such a distinct and permanent place in my consciousness and imagination. Also, I enjoy the ambiguous meaning of these two words. Do you dream of trees? What place do they have in your dreams? And more mystifying: Do trees dream, and if they do, what do they dream about?