Why is it that...

[Sunshine]

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]

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

[Owl]

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]

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.

[Edahn]

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]

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]

Originally Posted by ajblaise

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]

they're old...

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

[gopher]

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

[Anja]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

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!