Here we go again with a celebration of colour and play… This time the subject is the tree of life. The tree of life is a mythical tree known in many cultures, binding heaven and earth together or holding up the sky.
This interesting oil painting was made in two stages. First I made an exciting underpainting, which almost disappeared into the background behind the subject. Then again, the tree of life turned out so nicely that it suits that unusual background very well.
Here is the original underpainting of the oil painting. A little of the sketch of the tree is already visible here. Notice that intriguingly repeating background pattern.
I had bought oil paints that I planned to use for this painting. I thought I’d use a very limited palette with nothing but different shades of blue and green… I thought these new colours would stand out beautifully against that reddish background.
Looking at the almost finished painting, I noticed that the blue and green worked well. Still, I wanted to emphasise the mood of light and shadow by adding a slightly “yellower” green on the light side and at the very tops of the tree.
This is what the finished oil painting looks like. This oil painting measures 41 x 33 cm
