Tree Rope

Tree Rope  6 x 12

This painting, for me, brings to mind many of the things I love about summertime in  central Texas. A beautiful natural spot to paint outdoors, a cool swimming hole created by clear spring water, and the majestic scale of the large cypress trees along the water's edge. Fortunately, there are several such places near Austin. When you are lucky enough to live nearby & find the time to go and explore such a place, once you do, you know it is something special. And what swimming hole would be complete without a tree rope to jump in on ?

When I started the 5 x 10 series, I knew it was an easy size to create on watercolor paper. For the opaque paintings on canvas though, it is another matter. My research of the mainstream art suppliers concludes that there is no such animal. However, this 6 x 12 inch canvas board is a size I like and I simply created an inset to define the 5 x 10 area. I have worked this way with sketches and watercolors. It is a way of matting the image and lends itself to an informal work by having the edges of the painting show the loose initial painting and the inside area be the finished work. I think it works well with this size for the Plein Air paintings. For an exact 5 x 10 inch painting, I may need to cut masonite boards to size. These however, may be nice options.