THE TREE english

Grigory Gurevich, “THE TREE@, two photos of two pen and ink drawings of the same tree, made by Castel ink pen, with my “continuous line” technique. First drawing I made in 1986, sitting on a cement border on a side of a local highway and I was very impressed with the old tree, growing on the slope, right above the Adriatic See on outskirts of beautiful village VOLOSKO in Croatia. That Summer I made 11 pen and ink drawings in Croatia, while trawling throughout Croatia for 4,5 months with my friend Valera Glinchikov from Munich, Germany.
After I returned back home to Jersey City, I made copies of my drawings and brought all of them to show to my students in Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts for their inspiration.
My old Ford Thunderbird, which I parked on parking lot across the street, wouldn’t start. I put portfolio with all 11 drawings on the top of my car and tried to fix carburetor, in order to start car.
It took for me one and a half hour, but I was so happy, that car finally was ready to be driven back to Jersey City! Newark is not a safe place to live car on open parking lot.
Making story short, I forgot to put my drawings inside and all portfolio with all my originals were lost somewhere on the way back!!!!!
Two years later I returned back to Volosko and my tree was still there. I made new drawing, much bigger, than first one and framed it. It took close to 100 hours to redrew this one!
When my son Alex turned 8, I organized in Jersey City After School Art program for children and one day Art Festival in Boys&Girls Club and invited Executive Director of Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to look at my initiative.
I did not expect, that I will have “home visit” of director! They loved my art and festival, after school program and awarded my ARTS ON THE HUDSON/GOT, with the $20000 to continue my program!
In the day of visit, they asked my permission to hang my drawing of the tree on the wall of executive director of the Foundation!!!! Since that time, my work is proudly being exhibited there permanently!!!!! But I wisited VOLOSKO in Croatia again and again and, naturally, went to say “hello “ to my tree there, but I was very disappointed, finding that my famous TREE was cut off!!!!


Григорий Гуркюевич, copyright, May 29, 2024, New York, US,