The Not-So-Plane Tree

The Not-So-Plane Tree
30" x 40"  acrylic on canvas  
This is for sale - contact me for price if interested.

This painting was inspired by the plane tree or platane, found throughout Provence,  providing welcome shade in town squares, and along country roads.  I saw these majestic trees everywhere in France last summer, took lots of photos and have been thinking about painting them ever since.

What attracted me to them was their distinctive bark and the shape of the branches as they split and divided at the top of the trunk. The mature bark peels off in irregularly shaped patches exposing the inner bark – white, gray, green and yellow patches giving the tree its mottled appearance.

If you want to learn more about this tree go here, and if you want to hear about the unfortunate plight of the platane along the famed Canal du Midi, go here.

As for the painting - well of course I introduced lots of colour into the bark, and then stylized the canopy of leaves against a sun filled sky.  I am very happy with the finished painting - in fact I love it!