Olive Tree in Occitania: Description
This olive tree in Occitania near the Pont du Gard was not the main focus of our day. We had, of course, set out to visit the magnificent Roman aqueduct which spans the river Gardon. For most, it must have seemed ordinary and unremarkable, a matter-of-fact feature of the Provençal landscape. Anchored on a scruffy patch of ground squashed up against the limestone rocks, it was only a short distance away from the passing tourists.
All eyes peered forwards, necks craned to get a glimpse of the famous bridge through the trees that lined the way. Sandalled feet trudged along the beaten path, kicking up dust as they went.
Yet the olive tree sang out to me. It stood mature and majestic, quietly acquiescent. It must have witnessed countless tourists over the ages on their way to visit the towering arches. Its leaves swayed to and fro in the breeze, turning over their silvery blades in the sunshine. It cast a dramatic dark shadow across the pale scrubland. I knew then that I would have to paint it!
First Steps
Back home, I revisited my holiday photos. There was the olive tree, still looking glorious! My first instinct was to portray it in pastels, sensing that they would lend themselves to an impressionistic style. I used a dotting technique to represent glistening leaves and I crushed the soft white pigment very coarsely to give texture to the rocks. Covering the surface area quite quickly on what was a relatively small piece of work (355mm x 475mm), I was able to achieve a pleasing picture in a short time. (See ‘Olive Tree’.)
Development
Some months later, I decided to repeat the exercise using the same source photograph. This time I would use acrylic paints on stretched canvas and in a larger format (457 mm x 610 mm). ‘Olive Tree near the Pont du Gard’ is the result. It took weeks rather than hours to complete. I felt that this enlarged version required an even freer, bolder treatment. Somehow, the tree needed to be brought to life; natural tones were no longer enough to do it justice. Stepping away from realism, I introduced unlikely shades of blue, turquoise and lime green.These added the vibrancy that I had been searching for. To portray the swirling motion of the leaves, I used the edge of a palette knife, sweeping lines across the canopy of the tree. This final version now verges on the semi-abstract.
Medium: Acrylic Paint on Stretched Canvas
Dimensions: H 460 mm x W 610 mm
AVAILABLE: £290 + P&P
