Creemore artists mount Forest and Flower show

Two artists who find inspiration and rejuvenation in the wilderness are teaming up for an exhibit about their relationship to plants.

For Jessica Tamlin, it’s trees, while Martha Bull has turned her attention to the flowers in her garden.

It is the first time both artists, who share studio space at Mill Street Art Studio in Creemore, will be mounting a substantial body of work in a gallery.

Tamlin says she’s always been drawn to trees, whether it’s the dense forests of the north where she adventures with her family or a row of trees between farm fields in a rural setting.

In a series of about 20 pieces, Tamlin has included scenes from Algonquin Park, a place she finds particularly captivating, and scenes from Mulmur where she grew up.

There is one image of an abstract tree line that she finds herself painting over and over again in different ways.

Primarily using gouache, an opaque watercolour that behaves a bit like acrylic paint, Tamlin is able to achieve the luminosity of water and light. She said when people look at her work they often launch into a story about their own adventures into the wilderness, having been coaxed into recalling a vivid memory.

Tamlin said she is constantly taking photos of her adventures, which provide the inspiration for her paintings. Drawn to composition, which she believes is instilled in her through her training as a graphic artist, certain images just beg to be painted because they convey a certain feeling or capture a certain moment.