8 x 8 inches, oil on masonite, © Ann Painter, 2010SOLD
There is some question whether this is really the tree that Gerald danced around and that O'Keeffe painted but the tour bus that stops at all the places O'Keeffe painted at Ghost Ranch always says it is. I have my doubts but no matter. It is a wonderful old cedar that stands by the side of the dirt road that leads to the home O'Keeffe owned and lived in during the summer at Ghost Ranch for over 50 years. The view behind it changes depending on the angle it is viewed from. I have stood in front of it and had my picture taken as have so many others. It's that kind of place. Over the years, I did not feel particularly moved to paint it. If it was really Gerald's Tree, O'Keeffe had already done it better than anyone else might, or so I thought. I have passed by, sat under and had students photograph, draw and paint the tree over the past decade and finally decided, despite my misgivings, that it had to be part of this series of paintings I am doing about Ghost Ranch.
All the previous paintings in the Ghost Ranch series have been 6 x 6 inches. Painting so small offers its own set of challenges and after 15 Ghost Ranch paintings and 10 butterflies the same size, I felt ready for something different. I used an 8 x 8 inch panel for this piece. Like the others, the archival masonite panel was primed with black gesso but instead of going directly to oil, I did an under painting in acrylic which seemed to brighten the oil colors and give a richness to the piece that I am very pleased with. Painting has always created an experience of intimacy for me with my subject. I am forced to stop and really look, to pay attention and be in the moment as I look and then paint my impressions of what I see and feel about the subject. I know this tree now, in ways I did not before and that is the magic for me. It is what keeps me coming back over and over to paint the things that catch my eye and interest me.
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