This is a new piece, a 24″ by 30″ canvas, that I recently completed. It’s a very dense painting, filled with a lot of compositional elements and deep colors. Far from some of my more sparse landscapes, there seems to be a lot going on here visually but I think that there is still a great sense of quietude and stillness in this piece. Perhaps this is captured in the darkness of the sky with the brighter light of the sun breaking over the distant hills.
There’s something I really like in this piece that I can’t put my finger on at the moment. There’s a certain earnestness in it that I find attractive. Maybe earnest is not the right word. Unaffected innocence? Naive? Uncynical? I don’t know. This is one of those many times when I find myself struggling to describe what I see in a piece.
The one word that does come to mind is unwavering. I don’t know if I see that in the context of unwavering innocence or unwavering belief but there is a quality of solidness in this painting that brings up the word. Steadfast. Assured of what it is and its place in the world. Unpretentious.
You know, for a piece that I describe as possibly naive and earnest, I’m having a hell of a time capturing how I’m seeing it. Any help?
Redtree Times 
I see this as honest and hopeful.
Full of promise.
Its beautiful- it glows. I love it!
Thanks so much!
I like your choice of “steadfast.” The central glow is pushing back the night, the dark, and there is the red tree, stalwart and steadfast, looking over its surroundings. Perhaps as a protector or sentinel, but not necessarily a steward.
I think the feeling of simplicity stems from the notion that the red tree itself is simple, nothing pretentious or complicated in its presence. WYSIWYG. As Sally said, honest, true.
I like it very much. I suspect I will be visiting it often; it’s one of those works that reveals more every time I see it. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks, Bonnie. I always appreciate your comments.
Now, stay with me and don’t run screaming from the room. 😉
The minute I saw this, I saw every illustration of the Sermon on the Mount I’ve ever seen, from my childhood Sunday School books to more sophisticated renderings. The crowds of people, the “elevated one”, the isolation and elevation of the primary figure.
While the additional trees and bushes aren’t people, of course, they’re crowded around just as a crowd of people eager to hear a message would be. And the path winding through the crowd doesn’t ascend the Red Tree’s hill – the crowd as a whole will listen on an equal footing. No special privileges for pushy tendrils or especially rich blooms!
The wisdom and beauty of the Red Tree, and the eagerness of the natural world to hear its wisdom and be transformed – I’d call it “The Sermon on the Mount” in a second!
But you already know I’m wacky.
I often see the red tree as a sort of preacher or some sort of moral guide but I actually didn’t see it in this piece until I read your comment and glimpsed over at it. It seemed so obvious yet I had overlooked it. Thanks for pointing it out to me!
When I read this post this morning, and again when I came back to it this afternoon, the phrase that came immediately to mind was “Rock Steady.” I do not know why. But there’s something comfortingly stable about the entire scene.
Thanks, Rebecca. I like that term, “comfortingly stable” and feel it fits this painting well.
Why not let the painting speak for itself?
Of course ~ but why not record what we hear it say?
Ultimately, the painting does speak for itself. But part of this blog is discussing what people see and hear in the work.