I started this painting with the image of three trees growing next to each other in a local cemetery and modified their forms to increase the sensuality and vitality. Often to me trees have a lot of features of a human body--curves, creases, crevices, and openings--so I heightened that. I decided against a naturalist approach to color but instead to make use of color "vibration" (combining complementaries, in this case, orange/brown and violet). I wanted to capture the aliveness of the natural world by giving the trees a glow. I also rejected the naturalist approach to the ground here, which was actually covered with dead leaves. Instead of painting their shapes, I chose to simply blend their colors--gold, orange, and rust--into a gradient. This painting was exhibited in the Pawtucket Foundation exhibit 2019. 

The original oil painting is 16 x 20"/41 x 51cm on canvas with a gallery profile (1.5"), ready to hang or frame.