I’ve done a few paintings of trees over the years and have returned to this theme of late. I’ve always found them calming and there is nothing better on a fine day in spring or summer than sitting under the canopy and trying to capture the play of light on the forest floor. In winter their branches reach upward in an array of intertwining limbs, framed against the sky. Trees are never boring!
I’ve selected a few pieces here, including some old favourites.
March Day, Abernethy Forest, oil on canvas. This is an older piece but one that I particularly like. Painted from a quick sketch while on holiday in Cairngorm, while the spring sunshine was casting dappled shade on the forest floor. This framed painting (12” x12”) is available for sale from the Art and Craft Collective, 93 Causewayside, Edinburgh.
Cairngorm Mist, oil on canvas. The trees in this painting are on the horizon, their skeletal forms silhouetted against the mountains behind. There is evidence of new growth in the foreground, saplings seeded among the grasses and heathers. This painting is available to purchase direct from the artist. Contact me at artbysmart4@gmail.com
Gadden Loch, oil on board. This former sand and gravel quarry is a favourite place for a walk and in winter is a stopping point for migrating birds such as widgeon and goldeneye. This painting is available to purchase from the Marchmont Gallery
Mixed media on paper, Walk Through Pillars. This woodland is part of the Falkland Estate, near Pillars of Hercules. I love how the trees recede toward the horizon and gradually merge into forest in this chalk pastel and pencil drawing.
The Cormorant Tree, River Eden near Cupar, watercolour on paper. Around about November, the cormorants come up river and can often be found perched on this tree. This almost monochrome representation gives a melancholic feel to the piece and an almost oriental quality.
Cambo Coastline. Cambo is near Kingsbarns and is a well known destination for garden and nature lovers. The sea and shoreline can just be seen through this stand of trees. At this time of year you can clearly see the browns, greens and yellows of the tree trunks. Watercolour on paper.
Hill of Tarvit Estate, watercolour on paper. Sunsets have also been a theme for me over the last year and here as it dips toward the horizon it casts long shadows over the snow.
Art by Smart 
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