These photos were used as references during the early development of the thesis process. All of these photos are of places I have a real connection to for, example: the place where I lived as a teenager, went to church as a child, or got married as an adult. I spent the better part of my childhood in the trees. Climbing them, building forts in them, have long talks with my friends in them and so much mre. They have had a dual purpose of being land markers both in space and time.

The trees became something more to me, they became friends themselves. Each tree

revealed a personality in the way it grew and its difficulty to climb. 

 

 

 

In order to further pursue my thesis in a medium I could manipulate in a more tactile way, I began to draw and paint the scenes in the photographs using ink and watercolor. Here I started to feel the connections I had with the trees to actual space and time that I was around them.

I began to find the demeanor or personality portrayed by the body language of the tree was reflective of members of my family and community. 

The tree's interaction with each other began to remind me of events that circumstances that relate to each location. 

 

 

 

Alongside the development of the tree charcaters came these personality portraits of said family and community members. These portraits do not portray the physical appearance but rather how I see them. Taking into consideration our personal history and other factors such as career and general feeling I painted these people. The entirety of this process led to my final painting which will be an installation/mural piece of my Family Tree!