Abstract Tree #7

Oil on canvas, 48" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

It's done.  Over the next couple of weeks (or more!) I will make adjustments, but . . . it's done. Yea! and Boo! The "boo" is also because it's done.

Paint Relationships

Oil on canvas, detail, 48" sq.,  c. Catherine Vines

I started this current group of photographs based on the idea of light, capturing those clear luminous patches of light within the landscape. The series "Trees as Sculpture" was created with the intent of trying to portray that light.  But then, as always, I fell in love with color and my focus switched to using color schemes to paint from. With this latest tree - nearly finished, yea! - I have concentrated on developing relationships between colors, working my way up and down the value scale. As Ken Kewley says, "The life of a painter is a life of exploring."

Painting from Photographs

Photograph, 2011,  c. Catherine Vines

My tree series is called, "The Tree as Sculpture." In the beginning as I walked my dog, I would photograph trees just because I liked them.  After I better identified what it was that drew me to the trees, I began to be more selective. Since I am primarily a value-driven painter, I started out by trying to reproduce the values - if not the colors - I had captured.  And I worked primarily from photographs.  But at some point, I have to put the photographs away and paint in response to the painting. Like many others, I believe the photograph is only an aid, and only useful to a certain point. Then the painter must take charge.

What Makes a Series

Oil on canvas,  8x10,"  c. Catherine Vines

My neighbor got me started painting trees. Joan is on the Tree Board of our town and she asked me to donate a painting for their silent auction.  Since the subject was trees I thought I should try one, even though I am not a landscape painter. This is one of my early paintings for the festival (our "Treebute"). It took several attempts for me to identify what it was that attracted me to the trees. Even back when I was just visiting the town, I had always loved the sculptural quality of its trees.  Once I honed in on that quality, I was able to branch out (so to speak!) into my current series. What interests me the most is learning that I don't have to start out loving something for it to grow into a meaningful and rich series.

Working in a Series

This is the painting that started my current series on trees. All of these paintings are based on trees within a few blocks of my house. I found when looking for a tree to paint, I was most interested in their sculptural quality, the same characteristic I'm working to convey.
I love working in a series. It's so interesting to build on a previous painting, to take that idea and change it up. Format. Size. Medium. Even tools. Today's was created using a palette knife.
But my major requirement for a series is that something catches my imagination, something that I can see possibilities in, something that I want to explore further. With this series I started thinking of painting  portraits of the trees and wanting to capture their individual expressiveness.