Artist Sunny Stack Goode’s latest show, “Trees: Our Life & Hope,” will be on display at Rick's Custom Frame + Gallery, 5702 Patterson Ave., through Friday, Feb. 26.
This poignant and pretty show features 17 of Goode’s original tree paintings in a variety of sizes and colors. Pictured above is “Cadmium Yellow & Pink” ($850).
Since she was a little girl, Goode has been drawn to nature and trees, and this quote: “Our life is in the tree and our tree is our life.”
“My tree paintings . . . represent life to me,” Goode has explained. “I have always loved trees, their beauty, strength and resiliency. They are parallel to the human spirit.”
I caught up with Goode to learn more about her latest works and how they’ve inspired her.
R•Home: Painting trees has long been a passion. What’s new about these paintings?
Goode: I have really loosened up a lot in my last round of tree paintings, using oil pastels along with paint and letting go of exactness. Life is messy. Nature is a big beautiful mess when you really look at it. It is so much like human life. I am having fun with it.
R•Home: The exhibition’s title references hope and trees. How are the two tied together?
Goode: The title of this exhibit popped into my mind when I was asked to be a W.I.S.H. Circle honoree for Make-A-Wish Greater Richmond. I really view trees as a comparison to individual lives. Some trees grow sideways and then up, others are smooth and simple and straight. I think about these Make-A-Wish families. One day they have a child they believe to be healthy, and the next day a terminal illness is diagnosed. The smooth tree just got a big knot, or lost the light and starts growing sideways to find it.
R•Home: Do you like to paint other subjects, too?
Goode: Yes. I had a show last summer at Rick’s called “Water.” All the paintings were of water or its colors.
R•Home: Sales of paintings in this show will benefit others. How so?
Goode: I am donating 15 percent of sales from this show directly to Make-A-Wish. Also on Feb. 27, a few these tree paintings will be at “An Evening of Artful Healing,” an event for World Pediatric Project Forty percent of the sales of this art — there are tons of great artists donating to this also — will go to WPP.
Rick's Custom Frame + Gallery, 5702 Patterson Ave., is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
