I have always been drawn to the forest. Growing up, there were no proper forests in walking distance, but there was a ramshackle wood of trees and weeds that had sprung up behind my apartment building. Intermixed within this wood were clinging grapevines, a stream of gutter runoff, the stump of a once proud elm, (which you could climb down into) and various maple and honey locust trees. Trees have always held a special place in my paintings. More and more I’ve found myself dr