One of my dear collectors recently requested a custom painting featuring paper birch trees. She had a particular beloved tree in mind. Many years ago, her grandfather planted a paper birch sapling from his hometown in Minnesota in the yard of his new home in Illinois, where it still thrives.
Describing her love for these trees, my collector said, “Their white trunks with gray-black dashes are so striking and beautiful, and when a breeze shakes its leaves they flutter and shiver, like an aspen tree; they look delicate, but birch wood is one of the strongest of the hardwoods.”
I was so excited to paint some beautiful birch trees. As I sometimes do when working on a commissioned piece, I decided to create two pieces and let the collector choose her favorite.
Here is the painting she chose:
Birch Forest Afternoon
The distinct trunks of birch trees fill the foreground, with their papery white bark and knobby dark spots.
The background, less in focus, shows a sunny landscape lush with vegetation. On the left of the background, there are hints of the shapes of conifer trees.
Warm, bright sunlight glows from the center of the painting.
Deep orange-toned light shows that it is late in the afternoon, still bright, but with dusk approaching.
The warm colors in this painting are uplifting.
While the original is sold, you can order a fine art reproduction of this artwork.
Here is the second paper birch painting I made, which as of this writing I still have available:
Birch Forest Sunbeams
In this painting, “Birch Forest Sunbeams,” shafts of sunlight glow from the background.
This scene is autumnal, with the underbrush a warm orange-brown color, and much of the foliage in the background a bright yellow.
In the background, beyond the underbrush, you can see the dark green forms of evergreens.
The size of this painting, 30″ x 40″, makes it a beautiful statement piece to light up a room!
The bright sunlight washes out the details of the trees in the background, blocks of glowing light and color forming interesting geometric shapes.
The tree trunks in the foreground have much more detail.
The bottom of the painting is filled with the leaves of lush ferns on the forest floor. Some of the ferns are lit up by the sun, almost neon in color.
The original painting is available, as well as fine art reproductions of this image.