Art student Alexandra is tickled pink by her degree tree project
A TREE that lines a busy footpath a stone’s throw from Ashbourne town centre is now sticking out like a sore thumb - and it’s all part of a student’s art project.
Alexandra MccuskerStevenson, 22, is in the final year of a fine art degree course with the University of Derby and has painted one of the trees in her grandfather’s plantation pink.
The unusual bright hue, which makes the tree leap out of the surrounding landscape, is now part of her current study into how paint changes the charcteristics of objects.
The challenge she set herself in her studies was to explore how paint changes the way a viewer sees and object, and whether painting an object makes it a painting.
Alexandra, who lives in Blackwall, said: “Over the past two years I have been using found objects and discarded material to build works and look at these questions.
“Mainly, I have produced work for the studio and gallery space.
“This year I wanted and needed to get out of the studio, and to be somewhere I enjoy being creative. “I find working outside more interesting, and also challenging.
“Using objects in the natural environment can not only transform the object, but also that environment.
“I painted the tree pink to explore how paint changes the characteristic of objects.
“Essentially, I highlighted the tree amongst all the trees to see how it changed.
“I chose pink as the colour because it is rarely found in nature expect in flowers, and it contrasts dramatically against the natural colours of the area.
“To physically paint the tree, I used water-based paint which will wash off with the weather.
A selection of paint brushes, a roller, extendable pole, and ladder with safety gear.
“The tree undeniably stands out within the plantation, it’s like an alien object, a pink line in the woods.
“Many people walked past and questioned, commented or discussed what the tree is, does and why it is pink.
“Going back to the tree a few days after completed, insects and wildlife still cover it.
“Apart from the colour and surface, nothing about the tree has changed.
“Therefore, it’s extremely interesting to see that how the tree is viewed has changed.
“The fact that it is now noticed is one of many ways paint has changed the characteristics of this object.” Alexandra is no stranger to outdoor studies. After completing her A levels she travelled to Canada and to South Africa where she spent time working with Elephants at the Knysna Elephant Park.
Whilst she funded her own stay, the research work she undertook in studying elephants was in part funded by the African Elephant Research Unit.
While on her assignment, she took photographs of wildlife and the natural environment and has used them to produce paintings, exploring her passion for environmental and animal conservation.
Her pink tree, which was painted using a 45ft ladder and safety harnesses, can be found by following the Shrovetide Challenge Walk from the fields next to the Queen Elizabeths Grammar School sixth form centre.
The woods, which have long been a feature of Ashbourne’s landscape, are a commercial plantation consisting mainly of poplar with some areas of other indigenous trees around in places.
The timber has recently been thinned, removing approximately one third of the trees and those tha t are not healthy.
Poplar, like many species has been ravaged by disease in recent years.
The remaining timber will be felled in a few years, once it has had the opportunity to put on more weight.
The felled poplar was used to provide ‘chicken litter’ – chipped into fine pieces and used for eco-friendly bedding and flooring for chickens.
The hardwoods were used to produce renewable energy.
I find working outside more interesting, and also challenging.
Alexandra MccuskerStevenson