Redtree Times

I guess the weather that has swept across the middle of the country to settle here has made its way into my work.  I’ve never used snow much as an element in my work.  Oh, there were a few pieces here and there over the years.  They were often simple pieces that were in shades of  blue.  I never really considered using the white of the snow as a critical element.  Maybe because it would create a question of rational plausibility when the Red Tree would appear in these snowy landscape with its blazing foliage, as it most certainly would.

And does here.

The title of this new piece, an 8″ by 24″ canvas, is  Outlier’s Heart, to directly confront this issue of  whether a disparate element would adversely effect the feel of a piece.  For me, it didn’t make a difference and the Red Tree seemed right at home in the scene and in my mind as I took it in.  What bothered me was that I had even worried about plausibility while composing this.  I have always prided myself on not adhering to rules and here I was, suddenly boxing myself in with questions of that I usually  quickly discard.  I think it’s important to stay out of these boxes of conformity and this has been a good reminder.

That aside, I like this work with the use of the snow as the main element.  The contrast between the coolness of the white of the snow and the blues of the sky against the warmth of the Red Tree create a nice tension that makes the piece feel much less cold and forbidding.  I think this is right for this piece because I didn’t see it as being about just merely representing coldness.  I see this as being about the search for beauty.  I don’t think I will explain any more than that at the moment.  I will just let the piece speak for itself  for now.

As it should always….