Blossoms of Spring: The Story Behind the Painting

One day when I went to the post office, which is not my favorite task because the post offices around here are infamous for long lines at any time of day and any time of year, I noticed that the crab apple trees in front of the large building were in full bloom.

There were three old trees side-by-side with dark, gnarled, fissured bark on the branches and trunk. The contrast between the abundant pink blossoms and the nearly hidden branches was too good to pass up.

I raced home and grabbed my new digital camera (one of my most beloved possessions) and went back to take photos of the blossoms and branches from all kinds of angles. My favorites were the shots with the blossoms and branches sillohueted against a beautiful blue sky.

This painting is one of my rare oil impasto paintings. The paint for the petals and branches is so thick that it took almost a year to dry completely! I used an impasto medium to make the paint as thick as possible without diluted the brilliant color. This painting was done entirely with a palette knife.

I've tried framing it with a barnwood or black to bring out the tree trunks and alternately with gold with a linen inset that highlights the lightest pink petals. Either option works and I have both the black and gold frames available.

To learn more about apple blossom symbolism, please see our article on Apple Symbolism.

To purchase this painting, please Contact the Artist.