Painting is hard enough, let alone doing it on a rustic log. Artist Alison Moritsugu captures the essence of Mother Nature in the log paintings. These environmental pieces utilize trees as both the subject and the canvas. The fragmented nature of the trees allow the designer to paint directly onto the wood. Once her realistic work is complete, what results is a painting that explores the history of American landscapes.
Alison Moritsugu was born and raised in Hawai‘i and left the islands after high school. She received a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She lives and works in Beacon, NY. Moritsugu’s work has been exhibited in many art museums and exhibitions.
This sense of strained duality is one of the main inspirations behind the artist’s work. “I like the juxtaposition and tension created by having an image of nature on a section or sample of real nature,” she explains. It’s this contrast that makes Moritsugu’s work unique, causing viewers to reflect on how man has influenced nature and vice versa.
It’s also important to note that the artist gathers her canvases from trees that have naturally fallen after a storm or from people who cut them down and plan to chip them. Moritsugu occasionally uses threatened species to make her work even more thought-provoking.
Source: alisonmoritsugu.com