The first of my series of tree paintings is done. Its creation saw a challenge at every step of the way. I did so enjoy painting this 30 by 40" piece, however. The subject is a magnificent dead live oak tree standing in a field south of San Antonio. Live oak trees are beautiful trees that don't lose their small leaves till the new leaves start coming out in the spring, which happens so imperceptibly that you never get to see the tree without its foliage till it is dead. A lot of live oak trees have died from oak wilt in recent years. I do see beauty in them dead and alive. The strength and structure of this one were fascinating to me and the sunlight playing on the branches reminded me even more of a statue. The background was inspired by sketches I made in the car while Robert was driving through West Texas to New Mexico last year. I called the painting Scarlet's Live Oak, as I was listening to "Gone with the Wind" while I was painting and the tree's resilience reminded me of its strong, if unscrupulous heroine fighting to survive.
The photographs are of me and my work at Dr. R. Rodriguez's dental practice on Blanco Road in San Antonio.
