2022
This outstanding oak, surrounded by encroaching growth around it, was once in an open space, with room to stretch its limbs out. Now it could be cut as time moves along and the property that its on changes hands. But as I do, I took some photos and made some sketches to keep it alive for me as a form of art. This painting was a struggle for how small it was, a sketch for a larger work that hasn't happened yet, because there were things I hoped to highlight that required much tinier work than I am capable of. I began drawing into the paint with pencil and charcoal but couldn't get a feel for it. I decided to start over and covered it with a dark purple paint when I discovered that it looked very nice as a night painting as it was. I wiped into the paint with a technique similar to one I used for monotype printing and got excited about the results. The wiping marks created a texture that looked like a brush stroke of its own.