Sitting in the middle of the stream bed to paint the above pastel, I wondered about the straight tree on the left, thicker than the leaning tree and evidently older. I looked closely at the anchoring of the leaning tree and where it's slimmer trunk took it...the anchoring was strong, into the bank, around rocks, and long, stretching almost beyond the roots of the larger, upright tree. And see where the trunk takes it...over the stream into the free sun space.
What survivors trees must be.
How often it is the lean or the twists or the bends that give the tree its character...as with yesterday's Dancing Matriarch. And the metaphor holds for people...it is the hard times that often shape us and make us grow!
So today, when I stepped outside, I headed for a particular path with a slanting tree that would provide a good companion piece to this pastel. But sitting, blocking in the basic shapes of the trees on the path, I looked to my left and saw the granddaddy of twisting trees... not the trunk, but the branches. He will be a companion piece to the dancing matriarch.
Stepping outside and seeing the wonders is very easy. Not so easy is "a painting a day! "
I leave you with both a sketch and a photo of the great granddaddy of twisting and reaching branches. Both the granddaddy and the shaded path, will be subjects of a later blog. Meanwhile, step outside and see what factor the sun space above a tree plays in its twists and turns and leanings.
And don't forget to check out barbaramcevoyartist.com.
