Give Me a Land of Boughs in Leaf...
Detail shows words forming a patterned backgroundI'm so excited to show you my just finished painting! It is entered in the Lake Oswego Arts Council annual Chronicle Exhibition to be held this June 2010. This is an invitation-only show of about 40 Pacific Northwest artists. Every year the council selects one painting from this exhibition to become part of the city's permanent art collection. It would be such an honor to be the one selected ,so I thought long and hard about creating a piece that would have meaning to the city of Lake Oswego.
How it started out; all white lines and black canvas. The first thing you notice upon arriving in the beautiful city of Lake Oswego is it's many splendid trees in all shapes and sizes. I wanted to do a painting that symbolizes the importance of the town's bountiful trees with boughs of leaves.
This is the under layer, the foundation. After numerous layers of paint, the finished piece is below:
"Give Me a Land of Trees"30x40" Mixed Media/Canvas
Above in the finished painting you can see how the words of a quote about trees with leaves has added a textured pattern to the background. The quote: "Give me a land of boughs in leaf, a land of trees that stand, where trees have fallen there is grief, I love no leafless land." is by A.E.Housman, an early 20th century poet.
To make the piece appear weathered and aged, a charcoal wash was applied and the edges painted to look frayed and worn. Two little bluebirds perched in branches remind us of the life giving properties that trees provide in a community. To add visual interest, in the lower right side (see below) is a portion of an actual road map of Lake Oswego peeking out from beneath the background.
Update 7-18-10 Sold to a collector in Seattle WA
Detail showing the road map collaged into the background surrounded by words.