How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways… apparently at least nine. Claude Monet was right; there’s joy to be found in really getting to know a subject.

From the top left:

1. Oak Tree, acrylic on canvas. 24 x 30” A fresh, windy afternoon in May.

2. December, oil on canvas. 18 x 36” The second painting of this tree. It was inspired by the almost-surreal sky on a cold winter day.

3. Autumn Oak, Morning, oil on canvas 18 x 24” First in the 5-painting Oak Tree series, this painting sold the second time it was shown. The backlit leaves against the shadowed hillside and evaporating morning mist made this breathtaking scene the inspiration for the series. The composition showcases the tension between the line of the hill and the lower limbs of the sprawling oak, and the challenges of depicting the trees behind it.

4. Autumn Oak, Noon, oil on canvas 18 x 24” Second in the series, this painting was purchased by a Paso Robles collector during the Arts Obispo Open Studios Tour. The combination of texture, relatively tight brushwork and glazes combine to capture the cool, bright autumn noon.

5. Autumn Oak, Late Afternoon, oil on canvas 18 x 24” Third in the series, this painting captures the warmth of the glow just before sunset. Buttery paint, with opaque drybrush over the dark underpainting, helps capture the lacy pattern of the mingling branches. This painting was purchased during the Arts Obispo Open Studios Tour.

6. Winter Oak, Bright Dawn, oil on canvas 18 x 24” Fourth in the series, this painting was purchased by a collector from Virginia whose nephew had purchased David’s Sunset Tree No. 2. The shade and fallen leaves from the tree create a markedly different area under the tree. The first green sprouts of grass are visible.

7. Winter Oak, Nocturne, oil on canvas 18 x 24” Fifth in the series, this evening scene is as colorful as its predecessors despite the dark values. It changes dramatically under differing light. Reflections off the multi-directional brushmarks give the sky a shimmering effect. This painting was purchased by a collector a year after she’d originally seen it. Art really does live in the heart!

8. Quasquicentennial Oak, Morning, etching with aquatint. Image size: 9 x 12”

9. Quasquicentennial Oak, Morning, etching with aquatint. Color print à la poupée. Image size: 9 x 12”

Below:

10. A magnum wine bottle, acrylic pumice medium and paint.

Hey, if loving a tree is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.