'S' Tree, Dominican Republic

Another from the Dominican Republic trip, this painting shows a palm tree that juts out towards the sea and then grows straight up. From this angle, looking out to the sea, the bend in the tree created an interesting S curve that crossed the beach and the sea into the sky. I also was drawn to the light reflecting on the bark of the tree from the white sand, as well as the rich purple shadow cast on the beach. This painting also served as inspiration for the colour scheme found in a painting I posted earlier called 'Life of an Onion'.

Here is another good example of how to create a luminous shadow by using value contrast. The purple shadow on the beach is fairly dark, compare it to the white border of the painting, but it appears to be very light and airy. To create that illusion, put a dark colour right next to (or on top of) the shadow, in this case I used the roots of the tree to provide the dark contrast. I used a similar strategy on the bark of the tree, note the dark lines which both create the feeling of palm-bark, as well as provide the dark contrast for the luminous reflections.

The other trick with this painting was the leaves of the palm tree-one of the more difficult things to paint- over the years I learned to depict the overall shape of the palm leaves instead of trying to paint every single leaf...it is tempting to paint all the leaves, but then it starts looking like a pile of hay or messy hair instead of a palm leaf. In this painting I started with larger blocks of colours, and then put just a few fronds in to give the feeling and energy of the palm tree without overdoing the details.

5x7" cold press. 2009