Gallery: The Tree Stories

I have often used a tree to illustrate my social and political points of view. I see art as a way to relate to present times, to research, write and then put my findings into a piece of artwork. My subjects range from matters of current interest such as positions in politics, women and men in our society and the results of our changing world.

Bible Babble & The Story of Eve
Oil on Canvas, Framed, 87" x 63" x 3 1/2"
The Tree of Contemporary Art - SOLD
Oil on Canvas, Framed, 72" x 84" x 3 1/2"
A Two-Sided Border Story
Mixed Media on Canvas, Framed, 48" x 36" x 2 1/2"
Foot Binding to The 21st Century Stiletto
Oil on Canvas, Framed, 26" x 26"
The Woman Tree
Acrylic on Canvas, 7’ x 5’8”
The Man Tree
Acrylic on Canvas, 6' x 5'
Pandora's Box Tree
Acrylic on Canvas, 61 1/2" x 51"
Climate Change 101 Tree
Acrylic on Canvas, 51" x 45"
The Tree Story

Black vs. White
Black vs. White

A Tragedy
A Tragedy

The Los Gatos Tree

About the Tree Stories

Bible Babble and The Story of Eve. The bible tells us that Eve emerged from Adam's rib, ate the forbidden apple and brought pain and suffering to all of humanity. From genesis to our most recent writings, women are depicted as less than equal and subservient to men. Eve was responsible for man's eviction from Paradise and women have been paying the price ever since. The branches of the tree feature quotes from the bible and other important writings, woman are gullible, vain and greedy, & lacking moral discipline & reasoning skills. She is forbidden fruit, femme fatal, and a she-devil. This is the kind of babble women hear every day. Let's blame it all on Eve!

The Tree of Contemporary Art has a dual purpose. It illustrates the history of contemporary art throughout the 20th century and it suggests that great woman artists received less notoriety because the industry was and is largely controlled by men. The branches of the tree identify each art period and style and the leaves feature the names of the artists who worked in that period and style. The male artists were easily identifiable by their last names but I felt the need to list both names of the female artists because they were not as well known. The leaves intersected where artists enjoyed a love relationship.

A Two-sided Border Story illustrates the impact of open borders between Mexico and the U.S. versus our current ineffective closed border policy. The trunk on the right side of the tree is in a sock and shoe in the colors of our American Flag, surrounded by green valleys and an open road to a future in America. The trunk of the closed borders side of the tree is a bare foot on hot desert sand. A corrugated steel wall separates immigrants from their dreams of a better life.

Foot Binding to The 21st Century Stiletto... Chinese foot binding was used to show men how small and beautiful women's feet were. Today, stilettos are the 21st-century version of Chinese foot binding. We are bound by the expectations of what a woman should look like. I love high heels and wore them for so long working in Manhattan that I developed bone spurs. I had to ask myself... why do we prevent ourselves from walking freely by binding our feet in high heel shoes? This inspired me to paint the shoes on the tree that illustrates the cruelty of bound and heeled feet.

The Woman Tree describes a woman's body from her natural birthing to her hormonal changes. It also lists the violence we do to our bodies for the male gaze and to reach an idealized version of beauty and perfection. I exaggerate the obvious so that the female viewer will see some of herself in this painting and the male viewer will gain a better understanding of what it is like to be a woman. "Let the words Fall Out" is a line from Sara Bareilles' song, "Brave".

The Man Tree depicts what men are all about starting with the penis One branch tells the facts about the penis, another branch describes what men fear & love, while another describes the gay man's world in their own words. Another branch describes the good, the bad & the ugly of the man's world. The knight in shining armour, I believe, is the way men wish to be seen, and not just a penis!

Pandora's Box Tree Pandora opened the box releasing pain & suffering upon women. The branches describe global abuse, gender inequalities, human rights violations, economic disparities & the loss of reproductive freedoms. The characters in the tree are monsters expressing all of the horrible things women have had to endure.

Climate Change 101 Tree tells a two-sided story of the science of climate change and what the deniers say about climate change. The brown branches of the tree describe scientific facts why the earth is warming while the red branches depict the denier's reasoning for disbelief. Black leaves list the causes while the green leaves explain what we can do to save our warming planet.

The Black vs White Tree: I became aware in the process of creating the tree paintings, that my role as an artist can help the white academic and art-activist audience to engage with black lives regarding solidarity, humility and respect. To see the facts on a two-sided tree of art is how I have explained the differences in many aspects of our lives. The percentages tell the story.

The Los Gatos Tree: A commission artwork by Iwasawa Oriental Art Gallery in Los Gatos. This Painting featuring 32 illustrations of selected Victorian homes and places of interest from 1854-1982.The Town Plaza Christmas Tree is shown in the background.