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Why is it that...

Sunshine

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I find trees to be so symbolic? When I see paintings with trees (not landscape paintings that are obviously just there to be pretty) my reaction is always to think that there is some deep meaning the artist is trying to convey.
 

entropie

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Maybe you like stability down to earth with versatility in its crown.

:)
 

Owl

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Trees lend themselves nicely to a host of metaphors that shed light on human experience.


As Entropie pointed out, they're well grounded. They're content to stay where they are and use only what is given them in order to grow and produce their beautiful raiment. They use light, a metaphor for understanding, and turn it into life giving oxygen and carbohydrates that benefits others. They send their roots deep into the earth to reach water that is unseen, and water is a common metaphor for that which gives life. And have you ever wondered how plants make fruit? They take water, light, and minerals and turn these elements into oranges, etc. I can't do that. How do they make such brilliant colors out of dirt and water? How do they create such wonderful flavors out of mud? That is a great metaphor for developing the unseen potential in things that, at a glance, seem worthless or plain. They provide shade in the heat, and, in death, they provide warmth in the cold...

Trees are cool.
 

gopher

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There are so many different trees out there. Do you find one type to be more symbollic than another? It is hard for me to choose which is my favorite. I look at the leaves, the bark, the branches, the color, the flowers, the location, it just goes on and on. One of my favorites though is a White Oak out in the middle of a field in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, especially in the mornings. Talk about something that could be symbollic...

And then look at the micro-ecosystems around the trees, it is just amazing.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

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I love trees too. :)

<--- that speaks volumes to me and is symbolic of a lot of things I would like to achieve. When I used to smoke pot or get drunk, I would love looking at the way trees shot out of the ground and how the branches undulated into space so gracefully.
 

ajblaise

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If you're intoxicated they are nice to look at. I get the symbolic thing, but other than trees being fairly interesting objects, I don't usually extract any deeper meaning from them.
 

gopher

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If you're intoxicated they are nice to look at. I get the symbolic thing, but other than trees being fairly interesting objects, I don't usually extract any deeper meaning from them.
Never really looked at trees while intoxicated, maybe cause the interesting ones aren't in my backyard. Although, when I am driving around it may appear that I am intoxicated because I am always getting distracted by trees and the landscape. I think driving is a dangerous thing for many people with an interest in botany...
 

Grayscale

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they're old...

i know what you mean, but i dont find this sort of thing terribly inspiring

baby-tree.jpg
 

gopher

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That poor tree...And to top things off, they put it in front of a CMU wall!
 

Anja

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I find trees to be so symbolic? When I see paintings with trees (not landscape paintings that are obviously just there to be pretty) my reaction is always to think that there is some deep meaning the artist is trying to convey.



I think it means that you can't see the forest for the trees, Sunshine! :smile:
 
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I miss the trees in Minnesota. I hope to get back this fall so I can see the leaves change.
cfiles26599.jpg

photo_lg_minnesota.jpg

projects_s.jpg

I miss pine and birch especially.
 

Sunshine

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Trees lend themselves nicely to a host of metaphors that shed light on human experience.


As Entropie pointed out, they're well grounded. They're content to stay where they are and use only what is given them in order to grow and produce their beautiful raiment. They use light, a metaphor for understanding, and turn it into life giving oxygen and carbohydrates that benefits others. They send their roots deep into the earth to reach water that is unseen, and water is a common metaphor for that which gives life. And have you ever wondered how plants make fruit? They take water, light, and minerals and turn these elements into oranges, etc. I can't do that. How do they make such brilliant colors out of dirt and water? How do they create such wonderful flavors out of mud? That is a great metaphor for developing the unseen potential in things that, at a glance, seem worthless or plain. They provide shade in the heat, and, in death, they provide warmth in the cold...

Trees are cool.

I <3 this.
 
Last edited:

swordpath

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Trees kick ass. I've always been a fan. Go to California, some sweet treeage there.
 

Anja

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Booya, things are just starting to change now. We're going to have an early winter, I think.

We have a stand of sumac in our backyard and they are glorious in the fall.

Your pix made me happy. (And I know what booya is!)
 

Anja

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Here's one for symbolism, Sunshine. My ISTJ husband, who wouldn't see a metaphor if it swatted him over the head, took this picture the night he buried his brother.
 

Synarch

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I find trees to be so symbolic? When I see paintings with trees (not landscape paintings that are obviously just there to be pretty) my reaction is always to think that there is some deep meaning the artist is trying to convey.

* Alive but immobile and silent.
* Expansive yet buried and hidden.
* Larger than we are.
* Possess a human like shape.
* When we approach them, they cover us in shade. This removes us from our previous context.
* Long-lived.
* They put forth fruit or nuts or seeds.
* They are simple and yet complex. See fractals.
* They are easy to draw or paint.
 

kiddykat

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I think it's because tree's connect us to mother nature.

In it's purest form, it represents life, health, age, wisdom. To think of every leaf that grows onto a tree and how it falls back into the ground, also symbolizes life in itself- the metamorphosis of its birth, growth, death, renewal.. That's why they are beautiful.

I know. Cheesy explanation, but true.
 
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