Coastal Pines, Day 12, 30 days hath September challenge

Coastal Pines treescape landscape painting

18x24cm (approx7"x10")

oil on canvas panel
85€ International shipping included

 
Day 12, 30 days hath September challenge

Tree series ?
I seem to have started a series of tree paintings and I do enjoy painting them, especially when there is light and shadow playing on the trunks and underneath. Sweet Chestnut Walk and Cork Sentinels were from a recent trip into the Var. Sherwood Forest walk and today's painting are from older photographs taken earlier in the year.

The coastal road
These coastal pines were found along the coast road to St Raphael. 
It is a beautiful stretch of coast road that winds from Cannes to St Raphael and we take a trip down it at least once a year. I always take loads of photos so have plenty of references on my 'to do' list. 
Shadows and Light
These gnarled pines attracted my attention because of their shape and the shadows playing underneath them. It's amazing that they grow at all, they were coming out from underneath the tarmac of the road! Just to the left is the sea and I ignored the road for the painting using my artistic license.

Cork sentinels, Day 10, 30 days hath September challenge

Cork Sentinels, Provence treescape landscape painting

18x24cm oil on canvas panel

Palette knife painting

Day 10, 30 days hath September challenge

 Cork Trees,
Painted from a photo I took in the same forest as the chestnut trees painted on day 8 (see post here). The forest is in the Var just to the north of St. Tropez. As you cross from the Alpes Maritime into the var, the flora changes and the oak trees change from the Provence green oaks to these cork oaks. They are very distinctive and have a very dark bark. Where they have been harvested the red wounds really stand out and they eventually achieve a gnarled look where the new bark grows over the wound. I have lots of photos so expect more paintings of the cork trees

Difficult Greens
The greens are difficult because although it is coming into autumn there is a lot of fresh green growth that sprout after the first rain at the end of summer, as well as the older green leaves. I've also used a few blue greens to add to the sense of distance.

Sky colours
Although the sky is not a huge part of the painting I took trouble with this using more colours than I normally do (pinks, blues and greens) trying to represent the transitional feel of the sky which was overcast one minute and sunny the next.

Sweet Chestnut Walk - Day 8, 30 days hath September Challenge

Sweet Chestnut Walk treescape WIP

Day 8, 30 days hath September Challenge

Oil on canvas panel

Palette knife painting
Contact me about this or any other painting HERE

Last Friday we took a drive around the vineyards in the Var region so I could gather some photos of the vineyards before the grapes were harvested. As part of the drive we went through the Les Maures hills national forest. Sweet chestnut trees grow wild amongst the cork oaks. Generally the day was overcast but every now and then the sun shone through and I managed to capture the sunlight in this view. This is not quite finished, I still have to work on the edges of the shadows.

Sherwood Forest Walk - Day 7, 30 days hath September challenge

Sherwood Forest Walk treescape oil painting

Day 7, 30 days hath September challenge

18x24cm (approx 7"x10") oil on canvas panel

Palette knife painting

Sherwood Pines
At the end of May this year, we went to Sherwood Pines park in Nottingham my home town. While my brother and the kids did the bicycle circuit, I went for a walk and took photos.

Sherwood Pines is a managed pine plantation right in the heart of Sherwood Forest (quel domage) where they used to grow the pines for pit props in the coal mines. That industry has now died and they are gradually replacing the trees with native species.
My Walk
Naturally it was the regenerated part of the forest where I went for my walk. The sun was shining through the fresh green growth of trees and all was OK in my world.
Does it need people?
I am uncertain whether or not to put a couple in at the end of the path to:

• add a focal point and scale
• To add a touch of red (a shirt maybe) as a foil for all the green

Please let me know what you think.