trees | Cherie Roe Dirksen

Branching Out With Trees

I love trees. Any kind.

They are captivating, calming, beautiful, mysterious, life-giving (not only converting carbon-dioxide into oxygen but housing many a life-form), shade-providing and gracious.

So many poems and great works of art have taken root around trees — they certainly capture the human imagination.

To cut what could turn out to be a long blog short — pictures speak louder than words, so…

Today’s art blog is going to look at some of my favourite tree paintings (please note that all the works below can be purchased as prints, posters and greeting cards — just click on the pictures):

Thanks for looking!

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Please read Part 1 and Part 2 if you wish to recap.

Let The Painting Begin…

So with the prelim sketch having been accepted, the real work starts. You will see, in the photographs below, just why I never show the client the process.

Layering

Art is done in stages and layers and, usually, only the artist can see where they are going with the process. If someone were to step into your studio, say, whilst you were busy with your first layer, they would — no doubt — think you were an amateur.

“The reward for any artist is seeing the process evolve into your visualization of it.”

Paintings are built up layer upon layer until the desired outcome is realized. The reward for any artist is seeing the process evolve into your visualization of it.

Here are the beginning stages:

The canvas is good to go…

The first layer begins…

The second layer starts and you begin to see where this is going…

And then, drum roll, the finished product (or is it?)

Just to recap, here is the prelim sketch that I worked from:

I was very clear with my client that the prelim sketch would not show the intensity of the acrylic paint colours. The sketch is always just an ‘idea’ of the colour scheme.

Next…

The next step in the process is to e-mail a photo of the painting to the client. In this case, my client came to see it in person.

The Plot Thickens — Hitting Unforseen Snags

This is where things get interesting. Next week I will give the final stage in this commission and divulge what to do if your client has a slight change of mind or vision for the project.

Read Part 4