This Tree

I paint this fruit tree every spring. It continues to serve as one of the most challenging scenes I paint all year based on the complexity of it--split boulevard, traffic signs, park and townhouses in the background. This year I didn't get to it until the pink blooms were gone. I have a collection of them all painted from the same vantage point.

The most interesting part of this tree and this series was when I stood up and served as the lone advocate for saving this tree (its partner got wacked) from road construction. Most of the 65 people attending were scratching their heads and quite mystified that anyone had an attachment to this particular tree. Hopefully, my testimony for saving a "tree with character" is now buried deep in public record...