Andrea Currie – Friday Night Guest – January 29, 2021

(Submitted by Iona Bertrand)

ANDREA CURRIE – DRAWING TREES

“Find what brings you joy, and to it!”

Last Friday’s guest artist inspired us with the genesis, creation and growth of her stark tree portraits. Her process is a cumulative, unhurried meditation that evolves in layers of texture and repetitive detail like stippling and feathering.

The passing of her mother in 2011 started Andrea drawing trees as a way of expressing her feelings and finding her artistic language. She is not only a visual artist, but also a wordsmith and poet, sharing with the viewer all the layers of meaning and symbolism her trees are imbued with. Her tree portraits, that bring the outdoor inside, start a dialogue with the viewer, and improve creativity and serenity in the spaces they inhabit [like workplaces].

Andrea demonstrated her process on several pieces by first establishing the general outline of a tree with dots, then feathering the branches, and then adding details, like fine loops that may evolve into words, hearts, or other repetitive shapes whose delicate accumulation creates textures and depth.

The artist draws sitting on a fitness ball on which she rolls around an antique round table, tackling her creations upside down and from various angles. She is using only archival materials, like fine-tipped Micron pens size 01 to 005 on cold-pressed watercolour Canson or Stonehenge paper, Japanese paper off the roll, and occasionally on wood canvas prepped with clay or gel medium.

Currently based in Toronto, Canada, Andrea is an award-winning artist specializing in pen and ink tree drawings. Her education includes an Honours English Literature degree from the University of Guelph and a Diploma of Education from Newcastle University, Australia.

Her artwork can be found at PomonaLIFE and at www.acurrie.com.