Ancient Oak
11×14″
Oil on masonite
©2015 Lucinda Howe
$425
www.lucindahowe.com

One of the best things about plain air painting with a group is the opportunity to experience areas I may not have known about or visited on my own.  This ancient live oak tree is at Dunham Farms in Coastal Georgia where our painting group was invited by a friend of a friend.  These trees may be 300-500 years old and were prized for ship building in the days before iron hulls. Now they are iconic symbols of the southern landscape.

This colors in this painting emphasize the evergreen nature of the live oak in contrast to the purple in the massive trunk.  I used a horizontal format because these trees are more broad than tall.

I enjoy painting these old trees because they are so strong and enduring.  They remind me that nature connects us to past and future generations.