Only God can make a tree ...

Oak Tree on a September Morning © Karen Mathison Schmidt
20 x 16 x 1 • acrylic on cradled Gessobord
sides painted dark umber
SOLD • private collection, Germantown, Tennessee

Here's the finished painting. This one has a lot of layered color glazes, and some interesting texture.

Scroll down past the brushwork details to see the work-in-progress photos

And here are the extreme close-up brushwork details:



Here you can see where I used a palette knife to scrape in the suggestion of stems for the flowers:








And here are the work-in-progress photos:

Here you can see a little of the abstract background, over which I've started to block in my composition in blacks and blues:






Here's a close-up view of the flowers in the lower right section of the painting. I added some dark green where I wanted the stems to be, then added a layer of a lighter color and scraped away the lighter paint to show the dark green as the stems of the flowers:

Slow and steady wins the race ...

Grateful Praise ©2009 Karen Mathison Schmidt
30 x 30 • acrylic on 2 inch cradled Gessobord
SOLD • private collection, San Francisco, California

If you think you’ve seen this painting before, you’re right. Kind of. I started it last fall – it’s been above the mantel in our TV room for months, so for weeks and weeks and weeks, whenever we’re in there watching TV or movies, I’ve been secretly studying the painting, working on it mentally, until finally I just HAD to make some changes to it, and NOW it’s finished.

This majestic pecan grows beside our dirt driveway, just this side of the wilder landscape beyond our yard. I never get tired of this beautiful view.

Back when I started this, I decided this subject called for a larger format than I normally choose, so I went with a 30x30. This painting has layers of color glazes – working with a palette knife as well as brushes has made for some interesting texture, and has helped me move closer to that evasive goal: a balance between carefully planned composition and spontaneity. Suitable for the subject, I think - a tree that is equally at home in our (somewhat) manicured yard or the not-so-manicured southern countryside beyond!

Here are some close-up details: