Few places capture the beauty and spirit of Southeast Appalachia more so than the Newfound Gap, a mountain pass in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that joins together the states of Tennessee and North Carolina. This historic site is also a fantastic place to spot the Eastern Hemlock Tree – one of the most iconic species in these ancient mountains. Iconic as they are, a series of environmental challenges had decimated large populations of these trees, and for a while appeared as though we’d lose them entirely from the Southeast. Luckily, through the efforts of a dedicated forestry service, they are slowly making a comeback reclaiming their rightful place on the mountainsides.

As an artist whose life mission has been inspired by the inherent beauty of the Appalachian forest, the return of the mighty Hemlock groves fills me with a renewed sense of wonder for this woodland realm. These forests have always been stately places, with the Hemlocks appearing as wise gentlemen proudly standing guard over this grand terrain. The comparison has never been more apparent to me than on this particularly rainy day in the Newfound Gap, where the passing clouds filled the landscape with a deep sense of quiet mystery. The blue mists swirl among the towering “gentlemen,” both obscuring and defining them as your eye travels across the piece. This is a hallmark of my work – to use these profound and wondrous moments that naturally occur to create imagery where the viewer must take in the incredible variation of nature.

These are the largest evergreen conifers east of the Mississippi, stretching more than 100ft tall with trunks more than 5ft wide. They are a hardy tree, adapted to the harsh conditions of the high elevations. However, for all their hardiness, this species has come under attack in recent years. Acid rain from nearby manufacturing plants has scorched the higher mountains, and the woolly adelgid – an invasive insect from Asia – feeds solely on the sap of Hemlocks and has decimated populations across the Southeast. Luckily, these incredibly tenacious trees are resilient, and, with the help of dedicated conservationists, they are starting to make a comeback across their historic range.