Big Trunk, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen
Front lit by the late afternoon sun, this one hundred year old olive tree presents its massive trunk, claiming its rightful place in the universe. Seemingly immobile and immovable, but the truth is that hundreds of its kin have recemtly been uprooted (just like that!) from neighboring groves to make way for.... what? McMansions?
This ranch is the last stand, and this tree is one of its Ents.
Makes this project all the more important.
The looseness of the brush is becoming a lot more effective now, which makes me very happy and more confident about moving on to larger paintings. Not that I wasn't confident about doing large pieces before, but there is definitely a process to getting into the zone, if you will. Sometimes it takes just one painting. Sometimes it takes fifty. I've learned that I have to let it happen at its own pace. If I try to force it, I'm just asking for frustration and disaster.
Lookin' good so far!
This ranch is the last stand, and this tree is one of its Ents.
Makes this project all the more important.
The looseness of the brush is becoming a lot more effective now, which makes me very happy and more confident about moving on to larger paintings. Not that I wasn't confident about doing large pieces before, but there is definitely a process to getting into the zone, if you will. Sometimes it takes just one painting. Sometimes it takes fifty. I've learned that I have to let it happen at its own pace. If I try to force it, I'm just asking for frustration and disaster.
Lookin' good so far!
3 comments:
I can't quite put it into words...this has a wonderful feeling of being in dense, mature orchard with the light breaking in, and I love the small bits of sky. A feeling of wooded seclusion. Ahh...I give up...just find that it FEELS GOOD AND WOODY!
One more thing...if you are thinking about moving into larger olive tree paintings, maybe THIS ONE is your first study.
PS: I'll get back to you this weekend with the parameters for the sinking farm truck.
I'll take "feels good and woody"! yeah, it seems that with each study, I am moving a step away from rendering and step toward painting what is felt. If I can do that with a larger brush, I will be most happy.
Bring on the truck!
Post a Comment