Butterfly Resurrection Tree : Weathering the Storm

This piece is part of my “Butterfly Resurrection Tree” project, which is a long term exploration of how, throughout time, humans have ascribed special meaning to objects apart from their intrinsic value and over time these items become mythologized into something more.
By repeating the image over and over and manipulating the formal elements of painting: composition, color, and mark making, the image takes on new meaning and representation. I refer to it as a visual version of the game “telephone” except I’m the only player.
The tree represented is an idealized representation of an actual tree in my backyard that attracts a lot of butterflies which reminds me of my late Grandmother. A few years ago, after a very cold and dry winter in Tampa, we had thought the tree had died and chopped it down. When the sun finally warmed up and the rain began to fall the tree “resurrected”.
I chose this image because it reminds me that there is always hope and until we are literally dead in the ground we can always change our circumstances.
By limiting my subject to just one element, the tree, I am freed from being concerned about what to paint allowing me to investigate the how of creating. How does this mark affect that one? What happens when I put this color next to that one? Working this way also gives me the opportunity to view my work over time and see how it changes, what marks are uniquely mine? What color pallets am I drawn to? How does what is happening outside the studio affect what I do on the canvas? How does all of the above change the meaning of the image?