The colors of spring this season are awakening my spirit. It’s been a gift each day over the past weeks to see them emerge a bit more each day.
This painting was inspired by the pink cherry tree that’s in my neighbors front yard. It’s one I have admired for years and was planted by my previous neighbor in honor of their daughter who passed on at birth. I remember them sharing that with me, and thinking what a beautiful way to honor her. Each year its character surfaces with beautiful draping limbs that gracefully carry gorgeous clusters of tiny pink plumes and I remember.
Although I hoped to paint this as a plein-air piece there just wasn’t a suitable place for me to set up in my yard so I took a bunch of photos from my driveway and went from there. What I liked within the vista in addition to its personal meaning were the array of pinks, yellows and greens so indicative of this season. Occupying space between a course of straight and curved lines like directional entities they drew me in.
These colors became pivotal vehicles of expression in the painting. From a practical standpoint, there was a lot to consider in terms of detail. Nature has a way of being like that sometimes. Eliminating the non-essentials became key to identifying the most interesting forms to carry the beautiful hues before me.
What I hoped to capture through this work was the powerful abstract character of this landscape in a way that would propose some measure of sensation and feeling for the viewer to encounter.
Categories: Abstract, Landscapes, Nature
RENDERED IMPRESSIONS / Original Oil Paintings by Catherine J. Martzloff 