‘As I draw an old tree I’m struck by a powerful feeling of my being a short-lived creature amongst ancients. An ancient oak may have lived five centuries before the moment I draw it and continue another five centuries after I leave. ‘Tree-time’ is very different to our own.’
Tansy Lee Moir grew up in the Peak District in the UK. She learned about trees from her woodturner father and learned to draw what she saw from some inspiring early teachers.
She made Scotland her home 30 years ago and, after a rewarding career channeling her creativity into community projects, she turned that energy towards drawing again. Over the last 15 years she has established herself as an artist with a deep connection to the natural world, creating a body of work which resonates both visually and emotionally.
Her practice is rooted in observation and she now shares her expertise in drawing and charcoal with others through her teaching. Her art is available to purchase through galleries and exhibitions and direct from the studio.
Artist statement
My work is inspired by trees and how their history shapes them. I see them as tangible evidence of experience: old trees are time made wood.
In winter and spring I forage for images in woodlands around the UK, capturing the essence and energy of my subject through drawing. During the leafier months I then transform those intense visual memories into studio pieces, building bodies of work around themes which chime with my own human experience.
My drawings weave together elements of the tree and the figure and are always about movement, whether that movement takes three seconds or three centuries. Trees move very slowly in comparison to us humans, and I aim to show what we share. The work also plays with ambiguity by blurring the boundaries between human and more-than-human, inviting the viewer to make their own meaning.
The material qualities of charcoal have become a core element of my work. My drawing process feels like sculpting, carving out contour lines, adding and erasing layers, scraping and wiping to reveal light, form and texture. As my primary medium, charcoal allows me to express both subtlety and drama, but I also work in similar ways with painting and printmaking. There’s something poetic about drawing trees with carbonised wood.
For me, old trees are powerful symbols of struggle and loss, resilience and hope and I draw to discover what looking at them can teach us about ourselves.