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Trees

My house is surrounded by enormous sycamore trees. Although fall begins in October, the trees hold their leaves well into winter in December. By New Year's day the sycamores have dropped the very last leaves, showing off their dappled white trunks and delicate twisting branches.

Of all of the subjects that I have painted, I find trees are the most challenging and complex. Field studies are an excellent way to break things down, study and capture the character of individual trees. By breaking it down, I find each type of tree has a distinct shape and growth pattern. I usually begin with form and structure. Then, depending on the time of year, the texture of leaves and contours of the trunk and branches come into play.

John Constable was one of the first plein air landscape painters. In his letters we learn about his love for trees.

Professor Christiana Payne is the author of a book, Silent Witnesses, about trees in art. She writes about John Constable in her blog:  

Constable on the story of an ash tree at Hampstead:

"Many of my Hampstead friends may remember this young lady at the entrance to the village. Her fate was distressing, for it is scarcely too much to say that she died of a broken heart. I made this drawing when she was in full health and beauty; on passing some time afterwards, I saw, to my grief, that a wretched board had been nailed to her side, on which was written in large letters, 'All vagrants and beggars will be dealt with according to law.' The tree seemed to have felt the disgrace, for even then some of the top branches had withered. Two long spike nails had been driven into her side. In another year one half became paralyzed, and not long after the other shared the same fate, and this beautiful creature was cut down to a stump, just high enough to hold the board."

Clearly, Constable was appalled at the insensitivity with which the tree had been treated. But he also seems to be saying that a society which has no love for trees also has no love for human beings - such as the poor woman and child sitting at its feet, one of the "beggars and vagrants" who will be "dealt with according to law." https://www.christianapayne.com/blog

In my landscape class this month we will be studying trees.