Courtauld Institute

New Worlds: Spirit Drawings of Georgiana Houghton by Jeannine Cook

How many times do you go to an exhibition, especially in England, and end up talking to practically every other person in the room whilst looking at art?  Not too often, I suspect!  But that is exactly what happened as I went around a small and remarkable exhibition, "Georgiana Houghton: Spirit Drawings" at the Courtauld Institute of Art.  Each of us was so astonished and fascinated that we all talked to each other at one point or another, standing in front of a drawing, all of us marvelling at these pieces.

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Drawing Trees by Jeannine Cook

Trees have always played a very important role in my life, ever since I learned to love all the diversity of tropical trees in East Africa.  Baobabs, flame trees, jacarandas, grevilleas, mvule or African teak, thorn trees, and on and on.  I was taught that all these trees were absolutely vital, for habitat, to help prevent erosion, promote moisture retention, enrich the soil and generally to enhance the world for allother species!  In other words, trees are worthy of deep respect and merit great care. Artists have been some of the greatest admirers of trees. From early times, artists have drawn them, as portraits or in preparatory studies for paintings.

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