Tree Art (and Tree song)


For day 106 of the 365 Days of Art, I have some tree art to feature - and a snippet of Chip Prior singing John Rizzo's Tree song at a wedding.

First, the tree art:



Untitled - artist unknown, Richmond, VA - The guy that bought this painting was in standing in front of me in line. I told him that I took a photo of the piece earlier in the day (we were at a used book store that sometimes has art for sale).  I then shared two comments about the piece. I noted that the way the artist painted on the frame suggested something about his style (and it is a gritty style, eh?). I also noted that the thick texture showed essence and originality of the artist - I felt an uninhibited creative side.  I did not share a few more thoughts (we only had a few moments in line and what I did share was enough...), but I did not really care for the piece.  The artist gives off an untrained vibe (and of course some would say that Monet came across as untrained when he first started making impressionistic pieces- so sometimes a piece does not reveal formal training....). But the trees lack detail and seem rushed. Bare trees are such works of art and to use such simple brush strokes for the trunks and branches gives it an elementary feel and fails to show us some of the wonderful details that can be found in branches. The painting above (with chill) and the one below (by Godfrey)  are examples of how an artist can show details in branches while keeping it simple as well.  And while the paint on the frame has that gritty, creative feel - it also feels rushed and maybe suggests lazy. The texture is great, and so is the color - layers of richness with a nice touch of white and then glow to the backdrop - but when I see paint along the bottom - I am unsure if I like it. Oh and the texture part reminds me of the painting mode I was in when I painted in 2012-2013 - which was a very heavy textured painting similar to this artist, so I feel something in common with this artist - something little. The guy buying this decent-sized painting was a cool dude and he said this was going to look nice in his home.  I would NOT want to look at this every day - even with the texture and back glow- those tress would bug me too much.  I guess this is another another example of 'different strokes for different folks' - 

Detail of Untitled

by C Bendersky -  Richmond, VA

By G. - Richmond, VA

By Godfrey - Richmond, VA




In closing, a snippet of Rizzo's Tree song, sang by Chip Prior, at the Schutte wedding: