Just a Tree in a Field (#700)

Painting #700

It just looks like a storybook tree in a field, doesn't it. Well, that's exactly what it is.  

It's a tree that I see every single day when I leave my driveway or walk up to the mailbox. True, I did use my artistic license a bit, but not much.  It's a fabulous view and a fabulous tree.

I try to do something special at each #Hundred, so when my friend and art mentor said that our next Weekly-ish challenge was "Summer Landscape," I knew this was the one.  You see, a tree in a field has some history for me.

  My very first painting ever, February 22, 2007.
It was just a tree in a field, but I was so very proud of it!
Painting #001

 I did this painting on my 10th Paint-iversary, February 22, 2017
It was just a tree in a field, and it was exactly what I wanted it to be.
Painting #346.

It's kind of perfect, isn't it.  Oh, I know, there's a power line and a paved road, but I feel the need to snap a photo of it all the time.  

If you zoom in and look closely at this one, you'll see a difference.  Someone started building a new home back in that field behind the tree.  Sigh... oh, well, maybe they'll be great neighbors. I have plenty of "before" photos of that tree, and that's what an artistic license is for anyway.  I hope the new owners are lazy about mowing the Queen Anne's Lace and other wildflowers that grow in the ditch outside the fence.  The butterflies and I love it.

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

[Not for Sale at this time... I think I need to enjoy it on my own wall.]

A Weeping Willow, In Memory

 

What an honor it was to be asked to recreate this willow tree painting.  I first painted one like it a couple of years ago.  (You can see that one HERE.)

I love painting commissioned pieces.  I love knowing why a particular painting is wanted. Every story is different and often surprising. This one took my breath away. 

The message came through my Etsy shop as a simple request. I was asked if I might paint this weeping willow again. The chat went along in the usual way... what size... the cost... when I could get to it and have it finished... All very pleasant.

Once all was agreed upon, I got the next message... "My son passed away last week.  He had a willow tree tattoo and he loved the sun. So it's a fitting symbol of his life." He went on to share the son's young age and his name.

As I said, what a privilege to be asked to paint something so meaningful. Of course, I immediately dropped all other projects and focused on this one. 

Sometimes art is just play.  Sometimes art is emotional. Sometimes art is important. 

When I sent a picture of the finished painting, the reply email contained a photo of the beautiful young man with his weeping willow tattoo, and my own tears spilled.

And, a third time I say, what an honor and privilege to get to paint this weeping willow tree.  I hope that over time my simple brushstrokes of paint on canvas bring a bit of peace and remembrance.

Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Butterfly on Dogwood

We built our house in 2001 and moved in the week of 9/11/2001... (I know... easy/hard date to remember.) Of course, a few trees had to come down in the building process, but we wanted to save as many as possible.

The builder said, "There's a scraggly tree in the back that got pretty scuffed up.  We can take it down or you can wait and see if it survives. It might it a year or so." We decided to leave it.  What a treat that next spring to discover that it was a dogwood!  Even being scruffy and scuffed up, it did survive!

For two decades our little backyard dogwood blessed us with beautiful white blossoms in early spring, a ground-covering snow shower of white petals in late spring, shade in the summer,  red leaves in the fall, and cardinals at the feeder in winter.

Every winter we wondered if it would make it another year. 

When spring of 2022 came, there was something different... 

No tiny green leaves... no white blossoms...

Our scruffy little dogwood tree had finally given up.

Thank you for 21 years of blooms, Scruffy Little Dogwood Tree!

My weekly-ish challenge this time was "Yellow & White." That was a good opportunity to paint this sweet image of a yellow swallowtail on some white dogwood blossoms.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Weeping Willow

I went to painting class every Monday evening for four or five years.  I don't any more, but sometimes I just need a good old fashioned painting lesson.  YouTube is so great for that. Thanks for the tutorial Paint With Kevin! 

My art mentor and friend, Cheri and I did a (usually) weekly painting challenge for over 20 weeks.  This summer we took about three months off (Sometimes life isn't generous with free for creating art.), but we think we're about ready to begin again. This challenge was "Trees & Leaves." I think I nailed it!

Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Fanciful Spring Landscape

This one makes me think I'm walking straight into a scene where there might be some unicorns grazing just on the other side of that rise.

I painted this for my weekly painting challenge.  The theme was "Spring Landscape."  Why do I never paint spring landscapes?  I did some counting and a little math. I've done a little over a hundred paintings that could fit into the category of landscape.  I discovered that I have not treated my seasons equally!   

This is what I found:

Summer: 50%

Autumn:  45%

Winter:    10%

Spring:     5%

What?  How did that happen?  I need to keep my camera handy in the coming months and take some pretty spring landscape reference photos.

Thanks to Thanks to Paint with Shiba for a great YouTube tutorial. 

Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas.

If you'd like to purchase this painting, click Fanciful Spring Landscape.

From the Front Porch

From the front porch... 
      she could see the tree that he'd planted just for her.
      she could watch the little ones run and play.
      she could laugh at the chickens.
      she could feel the breeze.
From the front porch...
       she could call out that supper was ready.
       she could take in the colors of the sunset.
       she could hear the whippoorwill's evening song. 
       she could sit on the rocking chair beside him...  
             and see the tree that he'd planted just for her.
      
I finished this little painting with the big sky, grassy field, farm house, and barn in the back.  I liked it, but it didn't tell me a story... until... I added the tree.

I keep thinking of Pa planting the 5 cottonwood trees for Ma and the girls.  Near the end of By the Shores of Silver Lake  Pa says, "You're going to have your trees growing, Caroline, quick as I can get them set in the ground."  He took his spade out of the wagon and said, "The first one's your tree, Caroline. Pick it out and tell me where you want it."

He planted those trees around 1880, and they're still growing in De Smet, South Dakota. I'd love to see them one day.


My blog/Insatgram friend, Sara shared this photo.  
It broke all kinds of art rules (looking uphill... tree right smack dab in the center... huge sky of nearly nothing) but I couldn't quit going back to it.
It made me wonder...  

                                 Photo by @saraharley.photos

Who built the house? Why did they pick that spot? What kind of farm did they have? Did they plant that tree? Does any one still live there? How big was their farm? Did they love their front porch?

I do love an image that makes my mind wander... and wonder...

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas
Click From the Front Porch  to purchase this little painting.

A Tree - 10 Years in the Making

February 22, 2007
I walked in to my first painting lesson, and I was nervous.

The idea of oil painting was completely foreign to me, but it was a time when I needed something new.  My youngest had gotten his drivers license, so my days of chauffeuring had ended.  I'd taken some steps back from the National Writing Project, so I was missing having that creative outlet. Then this opportunity came along.  There was an announcement one Sunday morning that a lady in our church, Cheri, was offering a 6 week painting course.  I remember whispering to Ron, "I'd love to try something like that one day when I have time."  He looked at me and said, "You have time now." 
So... I bought the 5 tubes of paint, the 9"x 12" canvas board, the easel, and whatever else was on the list. I gathered my supplies (and my courage) and went to my first painting class.  
I sat on the front row in the middle.  I so wanted to be successful, but I had very little confidence in my artistic abilities.
But...
I listened.
Cheri said, "I want to teach you to see things differently." 
She told us which paints to use, which ones to mix.  It made no sense, but I did it.
She said to mix orange (of all crazy things) to the blue to keep the sky from being garish. I didn't understand, but I obeyed.
She explained how to make "sky holes" by putting the blue in the tree.
I copied her.
... And... almost like magic... trees appeared on my canvas!  I'd painted trees!  And they looked like trees!  I was so proud of that painting.  I still am.  

As we were planning the painting weekend at Welcome Home Retreat, I told Cheri that I'd paint whatever she planned, but I really hoped we'd paint a tree. She didn't forget.  

So... it's been 10 years... I've done 348 paintings... 
I'm still amazed every time a painting turns out like it's supposed to.
I still get frustrated when a painting isn't turning out like it's supposed to.
I have learned that every painting goes through an  ugly stage and that I have to trust that it will eventually come together.





I have so much still to learn, but I have much to celebrate as an artist. 
Happy Art-Birthday to me!

February 2017

February 2007

Lake at Nunnely

So many memories...

Picking blackberries on the bank - tossing rocks into the vines to scare the snakes away and chewing Juicy Fruit to keep from eating the berries while we picked.

Skipping flat rocks from the spillway.

Picking daisies.

Checking trot lines with Grandpa.

Checking the turtle trap with Dad.

Laying out covered with cocoa butter to help soak up the sun - who knew at the time that that was a bad idea?

Eating fried fish under the trees at family reunions or church picnics.

Riding on the tractor to help Dad count the cows or check the fences - the cows would never be still long enough for me to count them!

Taking my good college friend for a walk here the first time he visited my home... he held my hand - p.s. We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.

Original Oil Painting
[SOLD]