Martin Clarkson, Ancient Oaks of Sherwood: No. 48, 2022, oil on panel, 30x20x3cm

"Steeped in history and legend, Sherwood is a remnant of the old ways in which humans cohabited with nature, managing woodland and livestock through regenerative practices. Over time, this relationship with the forest has led to a dense population of ancient and veteran oak, supporting a rich biodiversity and habitat for nature.

When in the forest, I often begin with a scouting mission. Foraging for ideas, I take note of the tree's architecture; how its weight sits, where its form flows and jilts in direction, its textures of bark, from smooth, silver growth to broken shards splitting and crumpling like strata. I look for burrs, epicormic shoots, brown rot, corpse-like coatings of lichens, moist mosses and fruiting fungi. On location I use paint in a sculptural and immediate way, responding to the moment and trying to capture an essence of the experience.

Through all the subjects that inspire me, there is a resonance of deep time rooted within them. Natural worlds that annihilate the human instant, give way to the sense that we are a very small part of a much older world. Just like the stratification of rock, or the blue memory of a glacier, a tree too wears the passage of time. Etched into their surface is a diary of existence, simultaneously living and dead, a tree's form flows through growth and decay.

Trees are the longest living examples of a complex natural world. From the symbiotic mutualism trees share with fungi, to providing habitats for many specialist fauna to thrive, a tree is a living landscape in its own right. Surely, in this decisive decade we are facing, planting more native trees, future proofing habitats through veteranisation and managing land with regenerative and sustainable practices in mind, can only be beneficial for every living thing on earth.
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I chose this tree as it is a remarkable example of resilience. Holding on for dear life, it where is the presence of a fire that won’t spread through the forest back in the 70s. It continues life with its heartwood completely hollowed into charcoal and from this angle, it appears to defy gravity."

Martin Clarkson (b. 1988) is a British artist living and working in Nottinghamshire. He graduated from Loughborough School of Art and Design in 2012 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. Since then, he has worked on numerous exhibition projects, artist in residence opportunities, commissions and educational workshops across the UK and beyond. These include the 'Made in England' group exhibition at Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Museum in China, 'Santa Catalina Art School' in South Spain, guest international artist at Prague Art Fair and recently a longlisted artist for Jackson's Art Prize. His work is in private collections across the UK, Europe, China and Australia.

Clarksons ongoing project 'Ancient Oaks of Sherwood' (2020 - 2024) has taken his practice outside, observing the legendary biome and the rich habitat it provides through the traditions of En Plein Air painting. In 2022, Clarkson was commissioned by RoP sherwood to create a painting of the locally renowned 'Twister' Tree for the Sherwood forest manager to celebrate her retirement after nearly 40 years. This commission has since connected Clarkson with the Arboreal Community working on veteranising Sherwood, opening up opportunities to join research field trips as well as being interviewed by the Ancient Tree Forum on his work and connection with Sherwood Forest.

Currently, consolidation of this work is taking place in Clarkson's studio in Nottingham, focusing on producing larger works from experience and memory of time spent within the forest.