Hello, my name is Tree Bernstein. I created two mixed-media artworks for The Big Draw. One is titled Buckthorn Near & Far; the other is Strawflower Stars. The medium is a cyanotype print, which is a method for making a photograph with the sun. I often augment my print with watercolor pencil.
Now that I am old, I find myself more attracted the plants in my garden that are passed their prime. The blousy rose with its faded blush and tissue-paper thin petals, the dry, shrunken leaves of a sunflower head or milkweed pods, curled and split open ready to release their feathered seeds to the wind—these are the plants I admire for their resiliency and sculptural form. When I look really close at a plant, I can see it mirrored in the larger landscape.
For the artwork:
BUCKTHORN NEAR & FAR
I photographed a buckthorn tree in the winter with its wiry silhouette. In the spring it sets forth leaves that feel almost feathery. By combining the far images of the whole tree, with closeup leaves from the tree, I can render the feeling of a buckthorn more completely. This monoprint is a cyanotype photo with watercolor pencil on 140# watercolor paper.
In the artwork:
STRAWFLOWER STARS
The elasticity of our human gaze from large to small is echoed in flowers planted in the earth and stars in the sky. By applying watercolor pencil to the image, my intention is to connect the two views. This monoprint is also a cyanotype photo with watercolor pencil on 140# watercolor paper.
If you’d like to see more images, please visit my website: treebernstein.info. Thanks!
