Fourth of an eight-part series.
When Morley Watson needed to find some serenity, the artist took a stroll through a UBC park.
It resulted in six (so far) tree paintings.
The canvases look like upward snapshots of tall, narrow tree trunks ending in a green, leafy canopy - typical of any forest across the Lower Mainland that dwarfs human presence.
"I wanted to do a landscape piece that wasn't really a typical landscape painting," said Watson about the Impressionist-style pieces.
One of these canvases currently hangs on the third floor of the Gateway Theatre, as a donation to the theatre's For the Love of Art silent auction fundraiser.
"I've always appreciated the theatre," said Watson, who has lived in Richmond off and on for most of his life.
"I wanted to help out in some way. I think we need art in our lives, to take the time to appreciate things."
The trees are far from what Watson started out doing; his early work being more controlled and figurative.
Wanting to branch out of his comfort zone, he forced himself to paint with palette knives for more texture, more in line with the wildness of nature.
"I wanted something looser and freer," said Watson, who also teaches art to a range of ages at the Richmond Arts Centre, South Arm Community Centre and the Richmond School Board.
His first foray into nature painting began when he noticed derelict cars rotting in people's yards or empty lots about five years ago.
Around the same time, people in Vancouver were getting arrested for stealing junk metal to be recycled.
Watson began to think about these two incidents and then about how attached people get to their cars.
What came next was his popular series, Park Grounds.
The series depicts old cars being encompassed by plants and vegetation.
"They were once driven, now they're flowerpots," he wrote in his artist statement.
"It depicts how exposure to the elements is corroding and breaking these cars down, while at the same time being claimed by nature."
The paintings grew arms and legs when friends, students and art buyers started sending him pictures of old cars they'd seen for his work.
Titles such as "Abi" or "Macy" would be named after the person who gave him the photo.
When he began the series in 2008, Watson said he'd work on it for five years.
Coming to an end now, the pieces are in a transition as he explores other avenues.
The trees project was one such path that stemmed from Park Grounds.
He realized he enjoyed painting the plants more than the trucks.
"I'm not actually a car person, that's not really what the series is about," said Watson.
"But I think it's really cool when car lovers are into the paintings and can identify the models."
To see more of Watson's pieces, visit www.morleysart.com. For more information about Gateway's fundraiser, visit www.gatewaytheatre.com.
