KM: Katie, how did you come across the subject matter of tree branches?
KDG: I lived in New York City for about 20 years, and I mainly did figurative work and some flowers. But when I moved upstate, I didn't have human beings as my subject matter, but there were tons of trees. It actually took me a long time to look at trees because they all looked the same to me, but when I was out walking, I would find sticks on the ground, and the sticks always had some incredible mushroom or fungus or moss on them, and I'd pick them up and bring them back to my studio.
For a long time, I just had a few that I would do Japanese style, sort of portraiture, you would say, and I didn't allow the branches to touch. After a while, I had an entire wall of branches and trees in my studio, and I thought they could interact. That's when I came up with the idea of the cocktail party, a series I did for my last show with the gallery, and I've continued with it.
I like putting the branches in situations. I can go to a preserve near my house, and anything on the ground is available to me. Often, when I find trees – I'm very picky; I don't just take any branches – I look for branches with gestures because that's what I find interesting. The trees in this painting look just like this and exist in my studio. I pick up sticks I feel have some personality that I can use in the studio.
Now I have quite the collection, and I get to watch them change as they get older. They do lose some of their colors from when they first come into the studio, so I can end up with a piece that is quieter after a time. But I'm also allowed, as the artist, to use my imagination, so I can go back and forth from what they were to what they are to what I want them to be, and that's one of the joys of being a painter.
