Hawthorn

A beat up hawthorn tree inspired this painting. For a few years, one of my non-native trees, this hawthorn, attracted our bear-in-residence. Every fall the bear would sit in the small tree and wreak havoc. Every fall I then would prune the broken limbs and hope to get the tree back into shape. The tree did grow back, but on its own terms. I used to despair over its spooky, Grimm’s-fairy-tale-like appearance, but now I like the evidence of its resiliency and the otherworldly shapes. This painting is a snapshot of the tangle of limbs and shoots, with lingering berries, on a clear winter’s day, a hawthorn watercolor.

Watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on watercolor paper, unframed.

11.25″ x 15″