"Manasota Beach Seagrape Trees"
12"x16" oil on canvas board
by Cindy Mott McGarry
"Trees are like poems that the earth writes upon the sky."
-Khalil Gibran
My love of trees began at a very young age, let's say four or five years of age. Each tree so unique and longing to grow and reach up to the sky. It is quite enjoyable to get creative and paint them using different colors to express textures and curves.
Seagrape trees here in Florida are some of the most visually absorbing trees I have encountered. Their trunks twist and squiggle drawing lines upon their backdrop. The textures are lumpy, rough and condensed which gives the viewer a sense of a very substantial and strong foundation. The leaves are thick, smooth and have beautifully rounded heart-like shapes with red veins running through them ... displaying a map of their life-blood.
As I searched for inspiration one morning at Manasota Beach in Venice, Florida, the trees in the painting above, "Manasota Beach Seagrape Trees," were being flooded with sunlight. The trunks were being bathed so intensely and the shadows were very dark and long. The grasses behind them were also lit and blowing with the wind. The leaves had an orange glow on them in certain spots. I worked with a limited palette and repeated colors throughout the painting.
A 12"x16" canvas is a large size for a plein air painting, so I needed to return to the site a second time and then finished it in my studio. The true intensity of light and abundance of color could not have been seen in a photograph. Only the plein air experience can reveal the many, many dimensions of nature.
Enjoy painting!
All the very best,
Cindy
Instagram: @cindymottmcgarry
