This formidable presence guards a nearby driveway. I made the image early in my attempt to loosen up my painting style and it felt like a real milestone.

This behemoth towers over the car repair business next to it and the tippy-top catches late evening light during summer. I love to see the highest branches shimmering on the drive home.

The citrus tree is one of the most important visual elements in this image. I would not have painted it if the tree had not been in the original photo.

While I don’t think this image is very successful overall (odd composition), I do like how I handled all the fiddly branches. It’s a challenge to find the happy medium between capturing complexity and spending ten hours on redundant details.

This side-door of the Pasadena Public Library definitely has more charm than the front entrance, mainly due to the pink-blossomed tree calling, “Check me out!”

I have a strong memory of these sentries, even though I saw them only once on a walk in Texas many years ago. Before starting the painting, I would have sworn I’d seen five trees. Upon closer inspection of the original photo, I realized there were six!

I painted this as a wedding present for a very dear friend. It is based on a fantastic oak tree in the town where we grew up and remains one of my favorite pieces.