The Last Gasp Before Winter by John Bradbury

From the Artist: This is a painting trying to express the energy of this tree in late fall as it shows off its colors against the rushing of the stream. The tree is in the Muskoka area of Ontario.

From the Painting Guide: What a glorious tree painting; the way the light glows through the autumnal leaves, the intriguingly shaped silhouette of the trunk, the changing light on the water.

Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Look at how the elements in this painting are arranged. Where the tree is placed on the canvas, and how the strong dark of the branch leads your eye across and into the painting. Look at where the top edge of the river is, and how this gently curves towards the right, and how the bank the tree is standing on curves.

Look also at how the dark tones in the top-left-hand corner echo and balance the dark tones of the tree trunk. If that corner had been light blue sky, the composition wouldn't be as balanced. Similarly, the light tones of the top-right corner and the right-hand section of the river (and to some extent the extreme foreground) create unity and balance in the painting.