Beech

"Beech", 2007
pastel on paper, 12 1/2" x 10 1/4"

This tree is near our town center. I enjoyed doing the painting, but I fell short of my goal. The image lacks a feeling of weight and mass. I will paint it again.
This tree is magnificent with smooth bark, folds, and massive reaching limbs. The next approach needs a change in composition and a new perspective, maybe looking up into the tree, with greater focus on the negative spaces between the branches. A more abstract composition might better suit the subject. It needs more emphasis on the shape of the trunks and limbs or more variety of color. Or... maybe, no color. A charcoal drawing that would focus on the texture of the bark .
This beech has a strength, history, and a character of its own that I will approach more as a portrait.