Apple Trees in Bloom

Think spring!  I invite you to share a perfectly beautiful spring day on the edge of a mountain meadow, sitting in the shade of a wild apple tree.  That’s the kind of day it was when I began painting these two landscapes last May. The meadow sits at the base of Panther Mountain in the Catskill Mountains, near my home.  The mountain air was warm and sweet . . . a perfect day for painting.

These are acrylics on canvas, started en plein air and finished from photographs.  As a landscape painter, I’ve always been drawn to painting a distant view through the frame of something up close.  Often it’s a tree, such as these two.  Sometimes it’s a window frame, flowers, or just tall grass. Instinctually I seek a relationship, a polarity, between near and far.  The lovely harp-shaped apple tree in the top painting made an elegant frame for the distant slopes blushing with graduated color.  From the other end of the meadow, another wild apple tree stood in humble contrast to the back of the landowner’s home.

In both paintings, you can see the springtime green creeping up the mountain.  The lower ridges had already leafed out, while the upper ones were still purple with bare trees.  The highest ridge you see here is only the lower flank of Panther Mountain, which has several peaks far beyond this view, reaching an altitude of 3,720 feet.  I’ve hiked this mountain several times, and working on these paintings made me want to do it again.  It’s on my wish list of summer hikes this year.

These two paintings are for sale!  Please inquire if you are interested.  Order them as a POSTER this week, and get a free greeting card (of the same image)!   $10 for each poster and card, shipping included.  It will be blank on the inside, so you can use it for any purpose.  I hope you will send the card to someone you care about.  This is my way of spreading my art around – because people who read my posts and like my art are generally people who like receiving a hand-written note in the mail (and a colorful picture).

Order your poster here!

PRICE DROP:  Good news!  I’ve taken the plunge and bought my own printer.  As a result, I’m able to lower the cost of my posters.  8.5″x11″ posters are now just $10 (down from $12) – including shipping within the continental U.S.  Larger, 11″x17″ posters are also available – please inquire.

Thank you for your interest in my art.  If you want to be removed from this mailing list, just let me know.  Otherwise, see you next week!