Perseverance

It is storming as I write this post and that’s appropriate because this tree is a lightning survivor.  This is a large pine on the edge of the wildflower garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri.  I painted there this past Sunday and the colors in the trunk caught my eye. The bark is split from the base of the tree to the top and woodpeckers, and other boring critters have found a home. I decided to call the painting ‘Perseverance’ because the tree is still growing. The painting is a 16×16 oil on panel.