Oil on canvas mounted on plywood 50x80cm Framed

King of the Old Forest – Strength in Old Age

Old trees carry centuries of experience and wisdom, which they pass on to the entire forest community. Their deeply anchored roots and extensive mycorrhizal networks help create a stable and resilient ecosystem, where nutrients and information flow freely among trees.

Forests with many old trees are often healthier and more resistant to disease and climatic challenges. This is because old trees act as nature’s healers and guardians, using their deep vitality to support younger trees and reduce attacks from pests and fungi.

This accumulation of experience and strength forms a living community in which every tree, old and young alike, contributes to the forest’s ability to withstand change. In this way, old trees preserve not only their own lives, but the health and future of the entire forest.

The beech is the forest’s quiet voice—one that listens, speaks, and remembers.

Although pine trees are not as “social” as beeches, there are documented cases in which they maintain a form of partnership. They adapt their growth so that their branches do not suffocate each other in the competition for light. In storms and drought, two pine trees that have grown side by side can support one another—quite literally—through a shared root network that provides stability and collective resilience.