Tree Spirits

Flying Bear Books in downtown Newaygo is currently hosting an exhibit featuring recent works by local artist Brenda Huckins Bonter. 
This enticing bastion of bookery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12-6pm.
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From the artist::
During the pandemic shut down, I found myself with plenty of spare time. I really missed the watercolor classes that I taught at St Marks and Ukulele classes at Sleeping Bear Books in Newaygo.    Long walks with my dog Bengee became  a daily occurrence.  I live near the North Country Trail and Coolbough, so I had plenty of time to observe the beauty of nature and some of it’s amusing quirks along the trails.  I became fascinated with what I call “Tree Spirits'', the areas of trees where limbs have broken off, burls are formed, and sometimes even holes bored by birds that create interesting “faces”.  I started carrying art supplies and my camera in a backpack so I could make quick on site sketches and a photo.  Back at home I enhanced the pencil sketches with stronger lines and shapes then added watercolor.  I explored techniques to mimic the bark pattern on trees as well as bringing out the faces.  The photos helped with the actual colors but my imagination took off as I played with interesting combinations and textures.   Now that I have this volume of work I thought it might be fun to share it with the community.   

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