August 22nd early morning. One of the few old trees in the orchard’s south east corner. While painting I was visited by Cindy riding Mickee along with Max. I left my painting and walked to talk with her, while returning to the painting I noticed something on my right shoulder, a Praying Mantis. This was the first time I saw a mantis for many years. She stayed with me resting on my knee while I painted for over a half hour while I continued to paint.
I tried to capture the vibrant patterns of leaves, which seemed more like an attempt at Pointallism, though not a conscious attempt at the time. The tree trunk is too “worked” and stiff compared to the rest of the painting. The tiny brown blotch below the orange tree in the background is Mickee before Cindy took him from pasture to ride.
While I sat painting this Elder Lady, I thought about her curves and twists. As she aged the branches turned to the sun including curves from years of pruning compared to the young tree, which is straight. The older tree has wonderful twists and turns, a lesson for my body as it ages.
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