This painting was inspired by a magnificent landscape from the city of Vancouver, in the heart of Stanley Park. It was during a bike ride along the park's paths that I spotted these unique-looking trees, distinguished from their fellows by the green moss covering their curved branches. As spring had barely set in, small, delicate and discreet leaves were beginning to decorate the tops of the branches, allowing us to observe the structure of the trees. At the base, the immense trunks were divided into several sections, twirling slightly before continuing their ascent towards the sky, multiplying their chances of reaching that race to the warm rays of the sun first. Capturing this scene with my camera, I hurried to paint it on my return.

The more my canvas took shape, the more convinced I became that I was painting a happy family of trees. Being positive by nature, it was obvious to me that these trees were deeply satisfied with their condition; they reminded me of a close-knit family, each member helping and supporting his neighbor. Happiness reigned! Doubt crept into my mind, however, once I'd completed my painting. I wondered about my interpretation of the scene: what if, on the contrary, these trees, which seemed to grow in symbiosis while huddling together, were rather crowded, suffocating and trying to separate as they grew older, demanding more freedom and personal space? 

As human beings, we often have different ways of interpreting the same situation. Our personality, our upbringing, our life experience, or simply our mood at the time are just some of the many factors that can influence the way we look at things. I have therefore named this painting "Perception", because I believe that the analysis we make of it comes first from the perception of the viewer. 

I myself was caught in the perception trap; I was convinced I had painted several trees, only to realize when I found a photograph of a viewpoint further away from the scene, that I had in fact painted one and only one tree! ...Proof that having a framed vision without knowing what surrounds it can also alter our perception!