Fundraiser

Fundraiser – FALLEN HEROES Project

Agnes Jorgensen and Andre Chatelain

Access site for Agnes: Agnes Jorgensen – Artist (jorgensenart.com)

The importance of trees

Trees are of invaluable importance to our environment and to human well being. They give us clean water to drink, air to breathe, shade and food to humans, animals and plants. They provide habitats for numerous species of fauna and flora, firewood for cooking and heat, materials for buildings and places of spiritual, cultural and recreational importance. Trees are so important for the global environment and the health of the species that live there, and they need our unconditional care and protection. – 2014, World Forest Ecosystems

As a supporter of cancer causes, our project ´Fallen Heroes’ was created to support Cancercare Manitoba Foundation and Cancer Quebec Foundation. Each painting is specially priced and 50% of the proceeds will go to the Foundations.

Living in the Laurentians among nature, my spouse Agnes Jorgensen (also an artist) and I, were inspired to begin a new series of paintings. Walking in the forest almost every day with our dog makes us appreciate the gift we have to be connected with nature, see and hear the birds, the bugs, the animals, the plants, the mushrooms and the trees. Yes, the trees, those tall and strong pillars growing to reach the sky. Some of them have been around for hundreds of years. They have seen a lot. They have a way to communicate between them as they take care of each other. If only we could understand and tap into their network…

ˆLook deep into nature, and then you will start to understand everything better¨ – Albert Einstein

This curiosity led us to imagine the life of a tree and the knowledge they have cumulated. Knowing that you can tell the age of a tree by counting the number of rings it has, we wanted to see if a cross section of a tree would tell us more about the life of each tree. We were overwhelmed by the richness of the lines and images that our eyes and imagination were discovering. We decided to look for more fallen trees, which we refer to as Fallen Heroes, attempt to interpret their life, and tell their stories.

We remained respectful to the forest by taking only a small (2-3 inch thick) cross section for each fallen hero.

When the pieces have been sanded, leveled, fired, brushed, washed, and dried, they are now ready for imprinting on canvas.

At this stage, the creative process is at its peak. Looking at the rings on the canvas from different orientations will sometimes come as a surprise and tell a story we had not anticipated. Other times, we already have a vision, and we use the rings in a creative way to help tell the story we choose. It’s the painter’s vision and privilege. To bring it to life, I continue to use my favorite medium of choice, oil on canvas.

¨A tree is beautiful, but what’s more, it has a right to life; like water, the sun, and the stars, it is essential. Life on earth is inconceivable without trees¨ – Anton Chekhov

We believe ART is a catalyst that can change lives. Art has the ability to add joy to one’s life while supporting an important cause.

TOGETHER we can do great things ! ART has that potential.

To view all my current paintings for this project, please follow this link: Fundraiser – Andre Chatelain