Trees of Highway 11
$1,200.00
Artist: David Groff
Medium: Oil and homemade oak-tannin pigment on canvas
Artist Statement:
I create portraits of trees. I’m fascinated by how certain trees are shaped by their struggle to survive in difficult environments, such as the hostile space along a busy highway. Growing at the asphalt’s edge, these trees are exposed to high wind, salt, dust, and car emissions, not to mention active cutting and herbicide. Any tree would seem out of place here. “Trees of Highway 11” is a tribute to the resilience of these beings. By rendering this portrait with the same reverence usually reserved for human subjects, the painting invites a shift in perception; this storm-damaged poplar tree can be recognized as an enduring individual holding its ground. The work begins with an underpainting done with oak-tannin pigment, homemade in the autumn from fallen oak leaves. The oak-tannin brings a literal trace of the forest into the painting. It remains visible through the layers of oil paint, appearing as a warm glow around the trunk and branches of the poplar. Weathered by the elements and battered by human activity, this tree stands as a symbol of fortitude, embodying the memory of the ancient forest that preceded the pavement.
Artist Biography:
My relationship with the natural world and tactile creation has been a lifelong dialogue. As a teenager, I spent summer afternoons sketching along the banks of the Grand River, imitating Van Gogh’s ink drawings by using a sharpened stick as a pen. Even then, I was drawn to the unpredictable nature of raw tools. This early intuition was formalized in the 1980s as a student at the Ontario College of Art, where I gravitated toward the intersection of graphic art and fine art printmaking. Immersed in photo etching, lithography, woodblock, silkscreen, and editorial design, I developed a deep respect for processes where analogue materials assert their own will and change the work.
For over three decades, my creative energy was professionally channeled into the digital design industry. Parallel to that digital career, I maintained an independent practice in analogue photography. Working with pinhole cameras, vintage Polaroids, and a homemade large-format box camera, I gravitated toward processes that invited happy accidents. This deliberate embrace of unpredictability allowed me to explore the physical mechanics of image-making, culminating in a 2012 exhibition where my black-and-white box camera prints first entered private collections. Following my retirement from the design industry in 2022, I made a deliberate return to a completely material-based practice. Seeking a visceral connection to my surroundings, I began making ink from foraged natural material. Sketching with these handmade pigments allowed me to slow down, a practice that naturally evolved from broad landscapes into an intimate, portrait-like focus on individual trees. In 2025, I expanded this inquiry into oil painting, finding that the medium allowed me to capture the weight, texture, and resilience of the natural world with greater permanence.
Currently based in Toronto, I am an active member of the Gallery 44 community. My artistic philosophy remains rooted in a collaboration between artist and material, treating nature not as passive scenery, but as a distinct entity holding historical traces. This inquiry spans both my painterly work, such as The Sentinel, and my analogue photography, which will be featured in an upcoming two-person exhibition at Gallery 44 in 2027 focusing on the Trees of Highway 11.
Her work has received multiple honours from Craft Ontario, including Best in Show and the Community Award at Explore Craft in Muskoka. Through her practice, Dale continues to contribute to the growing recognition of textile art within the contemporary art world.
