I  have often been asked why I have been painting palm trees for the last few years almost to the exclusion of all other subject matter, especially as a “Utah Artist”?
    I actually spend significant time outside of Utah, though almost all of my painting happens here. I started the palm series in late winter of 2020 in the beginning of the Covid19 quartines and lockdowns. I was not able to travel like I was used to, and though I am usually in my studio mostly alone, I was very much feeling isolation and apprehension. Maybe that was just a spillover from society as a whole. I think it also was due to the effect of the last of my children being home all day and still trying to go to work and not “waste” the day just hanging out with them.
    Early in my marriage and with my first children I worked too much. I often spent weeks at a time traveling and then when “home” I would spend those weeks at my studio trying to “catch up”. I spent way too little time actually at home with my lovely daughters that were quickly becoming young women. I didn't really notice this pattern that I had fallen into until several years later when we added a couple of children. The stark contrast of these new infants and their seemingly much older sisters really brought the passage of time into sharp focus. So I began to be sure that I made it home most weekends and tried to spend at least that time with these children while they were still at home. Of course, this new pattern had a positive effect on my marriage as well.
    But now (in 2020) with the children home from school all day, I was feeling very conflicted, almost like I was betraying this renewed commitment to spend time with these little ones. So in the midst of these multiple negative spirals in my head and manifested in lives and communities all around the world, I was invited to participate in an art Show in Greece that was focused on symbolism of recovery in “trying times”. I painted a palm tree in high winds, accompanied by the words:
“Palm trees’ exposure to drought and buffering winds during their youth are vital to proper root development. With these tenacious roots, many palms are even able to withstand the sustained pressure of hurricane force wind gusts. Our times of adversity and isolation can change us or remind us of our strength and resilience to weather or overcome these challenges. Many even find ways to lift and comfort others that may still be developing.”
    The few hours I spent painting this little 15”x15” palm painting were amazingly rejuvenating. I wanted to paint more palms. I wanted a large palm tree painting in my bedroom. So I keep painting palms. I have enjoyed the time thinking of them as intently as painting allows, so much that even as life returned to normal and I have begun to travel again, I have continued to return to this subject almost compulsively.
    I have always enjoyed palm trees. I love the audacious silhouettes they often thrust against the sky. In some areas they are the tallest standing of all the natural things around and especially in those areas I enjoy their constant intrusion into my visual space. I like the rhythmic columnar experience of driving on roadways lined with palm plantings.  With these trees' resilience I mentioned earlier, they can live for more than a century past the lifespan of the planters. They become intrinsically connected with the character of a place- spaces that are often used by many of us as settings to unwind or celebrate. Of all large plants they are uniquely identifiable. These strong profiled forms are almost innately symbolic.
    Palm trees exist in the places where, for all my adult life, I have spent the most time with my family in large consecutive chunks. Years ago on these trips we started a game to see which of us would see the first palm as we traveled to these destinations. This made them a de facto symbol of our arrival, and apparently seared into my unconscious a symbol of some of the best times of my life, spent with my family and reuniting.
    As I have spent many hours now painting hundreds of palm trees and discussing them with collectors, I am convinced that palm trees are similarly symbolic to many people of both luxury and the resilience it takes to obtain that luxury.  They are symbols of the kinds of lifestyles many of us desire and strive to have as part of our lives- at least sometimes.