"Standing Alone"

Oil on hardboard panel - 10x8

Completed 02/06/2010 - Donated to charity

This picture is of one of the many hammocks that dot the salt marsh near our house. On many of them, a solitary pine or palm tree seems to stand alone at the end of the hammock away from the other trees. It is this tree that captured my interest as it seemed to be the anchor or the sentry for the whole hammock.

The time of day is late morning when the sky is its bluest and the clouds are like a multitude of cotton balls. That created problems for me in getting the colors to balance, especially the colors of the palm fronds. I finished the painting after nearly a week of work in fits and starts. Interruptions made it difficult, and the choice I made of the brilliant blue sky and scattered clouds complicated the colors I could use for the trees and foliage. I did a considerable amount of scraping off and repainting before I achieved the result I wanted.

Rick Petersen