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SEEING THE TREES
Gouache and Oil paintings by Thomas Paquette
ROGER TORY PETERSON INSTITUTE OF NATURAL HISTORY
May 22 - July 11, 2010

Landmark Tree, oil on linen, 36 x 46 inches

Greetings!

Spring is still making its slow way here, and I can't seem to keep my eyes off its daily progress. The leaves are fattening on the trees in a surprising flourish of colors. Almost like the fall in that respect, it never ceases to astonish me each year. In the winter from my studio windows I could watch the sun as it dropped - far too early! - through skeletal deciduous trees and across the valley, setting over the distant hills. Now, that view is daily diminished, overpowered by a verdant infinity of trees, soon to be a green wall.

Continuing with that observational obsession, I am pleased to announce that 30 of my gouaches and 12 of my oil paintings will be on display in the galleries at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in a solo show titled, "Seeing the Trees". [SEE DETAILS, BELOW.] I am including works that were inspired by trees most particularly: how they look, how they activate our perceptions of our environment, how we interact with them, how they reflect and respond to our presence.

I plan to talk a bit about this at the opening reception's short "gallery talk" starting at 7pm, June 5, but in case you can't make it to that, I have a few things I want to mention about this show. As you may have guessed, the title obliquely refers to the old expression, "Can't see the forest for the trees", but flips it around. Important as the forest (or "big picture") is, if we consistently ignore interesting particularities, individuals, and microcosms of any group, we will never really know what the larger context is all about anyway. Or maybe I just think this because I love staring at bark and leaves and branches.

And Roger Tory Peterson, the man, was no help in changing my mind about this. His many guidebooks opened windows on a new world for me. Born a city boy, I started purchasing them as a young adult, and was soon determined that I would be able to identify every flowering plant, tree and animal track I came across. I fell short of that goal, never being much good with rote memory, but it gave me a way to approach our various planet-companions and see them more intimately. It got me looking. To this day, my guidebooks are still like Rosetta Stones, keying my perceptions of the natural world.

And now I am much honored to be showing my paintings - my observations of the natural world that Peterson helped explicate for me and so many people - at the Institute that bears his name, where his mission continues, thanks to the very dedicated staff. It seems very 'full circle" to me - like seeing the forest for the trees.

~ Thomas

Exhibition Details:

SEEING THE TREES : Gouache and Oil paintings by Thomas Paquette

Location:
ROGER TORY PETERSON INSTITUTE OF NATURAL HISTORY
311 Curtis Street, Jamestown, NY 14701
716.665.2473 / 800.758.6841
Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm / Sunday 1-5pm

Synopsis:
Paintings from Europe and America celebrating the trees that share our world, including new gouaches depicting views at the RTPI grounds.

Dates:
May 22 - July 11, 2010

Reception:
Saturday, June 5, 6:30-9pm; gallery talk at 7
Art, wine, hors d'oeuvres, live music, gallery talk, book signing

Visit www.RTPI.org or call for more information.