Spirit through the Trees

This painting is of a beautiful grove of London Plane trees in Prospect Park, near the Lincoln Statue and Music Island. These trees are some of the original trees in the park, putting them at 150 years old or more. This is not a long time in a certain sense, but in the landscape of the United States, it is fairly old.

The trees shed their bark, producing a camouflage like pattern that you can't miss. In fact, the London Plane was a favorite tree of the infamous NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. It currently comprises roughly 14% of all street trees in New York!

These trees were planted fairly close to each other for such large old trees. But I noticed they will not grow into each other, almost as if they know a friend is nearby—they must communicate somehow! Because of this they grow outward, forming a whalebone like structure that reminds me of a cathedral.

I wanted to paint the sunlight coming through the tree canopy, hence "Spirit in the Air." This is one of my favorite areas of Prospect Park.