From the Artist: I had been walking one Sunday morning in mid-March through the woods with my dog. Not much was blooming, or so I thought. I was thinking how nature is such a metaphor for life and for me works better than sitting in a church building, about the upcoming Easter celebration, death and resurrection etc. I turned the corner of the path and lo and behold, in the middle of some scrub trees and pines, there was this glorious overgrown wild cherry in full bloom. It was too wonderful and I had to paint it.
I went back a week later and the blooms had already dropped and you'd have never known it was there. Incredible! There's always hope... and it arrives often when we least expect it.
From the Painting Guide: I've always loved the way some trees seem to blossom impossibly early, when it seems it must still be too cold. For me it always seems such a hopeful and optimistic display, promise of warmer days to come.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: I think I would've used artistic license and left out the tree trunks in the background, or covered them with a bit more blossom so they weren't so obvious. At the moment I find them a bit distracting.
I'd be tempted to crop the painting on the right-hand side, eliminating the tree trunks in the background and also positioning the cherry tree slightly further to the right. Hold up a piece of paper over the right-hand part of the painting and you'll see how having the tree trunk slightly less centrally positioned changes the feeling of the painting. Have just one side of the blossom on the tree in its full glory, rather than both sides.
Size of Brushmarks: The green background has been painted with large brushmarks, creating a strong backdrop to the more delicate blossoms. If it had been painted with a fine brush, creating delicate little brushmarks it may resemble grass more realistically, but the painting would be a lot fussier, and the blossoms and grass would likely fight one another for the viewer's attention.
I went back a week later and the blooms had already dropped and you'd have never known it was there. Incredible! There's always hope... and it arrives often when we least expect it.
From the Painting Guide: I've always loved the way some trees seem to blossom impossibly early, when it seems it must still be too cold. For me it always seems such a hopeful and optimistic display, promise of warmer days to come.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: I think I would've used artistic license and left out the tree trunks in the background, or covered them with a bit more blossom so they weren't so obvious. At the moment I find them a bit distracting.
I'd be tempted to crop the painting on the right-hand side, eliminating the tree trunks in the background and also positioning the cherry tree slightly further to the right. Hold up a piece of paper over the right-hand part of the painting and you'll see how having the tree trunk slightly less centrally positioned changes the feeling of the painting. Have just one side of the blossom on the tree in its full glory, rather than both sides.
Size of Brushmarks: The green background has been painted with large brushmarks, creating a strong backdrop to the more delicate blossoms. If it had been painted with a fine brush, creating delicate little brushmarks it may resemble grass more realistically, but the painting would be a lot fussier, and the blossoms and grass would likely fight one another for the viewer's attention.