“A special place can contain all stories – all of the past and all of the future, all the beginnings and endings.” Bill Donahue
Cape George, Discovery Bay, Madrona grove
Madrona sketch, from Karen and Lucinda’s yard
I am in love with the madrone family – more exactly, the arbutus menziesii – Pacific Northwest native tree. I love how its presence tells me I am home: the main road into Port Townsend itself lined with madrones, gracefully arching over the asphalt, in a sort of burnished welcome. I love how, in the woods, the madrones intertwine with the firs, companions in the shade. There is beauty and magic in their color palette, their sensuous curves, the variety of smooth and rough barks, the vibrant peeling, layers revealing growth. They feel silently full of mystery, stories, past and future.
Scattering of sketchbook pages, sources for new paintings
Indulging this arbutus obsession, I have been out sketching, even in these dark winter days. Thanks to the plentiful presence of my madrone friends, I can simply step out the door to find any number of beauties. Or in the case of a slender landmark on our property, I can just look out my studio window for an excellent view of her leaning toward the Bay.
This enthusiasm has fueled a curiosity and collecting of madrone information...trying to learn how to care for those in our yard, to understand them and who they are. I have learned they do not like being disturbed, and yet, they arrive and thrive in disturbed areas. I learned that Archibald Menzies, surgeon-naturalist with Captain Vancouver, came upon madrones first at Port Discovery on the Olympic Peninsula in 1792 but it was another explorer Father Juan Crespi who gave it the Spanish name madrono. They are also known by the names Strawberry Tree and my favorite, Madrona, for its womanly tone.
The dear trees are suffering these days, from a blight likely caused by fungus encouraged by the increasingly moist winters and from the challenges of urban air, but I am hopeful when I see so many thriving too, and their abundant babies sprouting up in the most unlikely spots (behind Safeway, against the foundation, is a fabulous creature!).
Detail, in progress: Madrona Grove, Discovery Bay
I am featured artist for January at Gallery 9, and will be unveiling several new paintings in this Madrona series – painting some of them gloriously large in homage to these blessed beings’ grace and quiet power. I love how painting teaches me the form of a thing, over and over again, and that lets me really feel its presence.