Paintings!

Two Birch Forest Paintings

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.

Birch Forest Afternoon. 30″ x 40″, Acrylic on Wood, © 2025 Cedar Lee

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.

Birch Forest Afternoon painting by Cedar Lee

Warm, bright sunlight glows from the center of the painting.

Closeup detail: Birch Forest Afternoon. © 2025 Cedar Lee

Deep orange-toned light shows that it is late in the afternoon, still bright, but with dusk approaching.

Closeup detail: Birch Forest Afternoon. © 2025 Cedar Lee

The warm colors in this painting are uplifting.

Closeup detail: Birch Forest Afternoon © 2025 Cedar Lee

While the original is sold, you can order a fine art reproduction of this artwork.

Paper birch forest painting by Cedar Lee

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.

Birch Forest Sunbeams. 30″ x 40″, Acrylic on Wood, © 2025 Cedar Lee

This scene is autumnal, with the underbrush a warm orange-brown color, and much of the foliage in the background a bright yellow.

Artist with painting: Birch Forest Sunbeams. © 2025 Cedar Lee

In the background, beyond the underbrush, you can see the dark green forms of evergreens.

Paper birch trees painting by Cedar Lee

The size of this painting, 30″ x 40″, makes it a beautiful statement piece to light up a room!

Closeup detail: Birch Forest Sunbeams. © 2025 Cedar Lee

The bright sunlight washes out the details of the trees in the background, blocks of glowing light and color forming interesting geometric shapes.

Closeup detail: Birch Forest Sunbeams. © 2025 Cedar Lee

The tree trunks in the foreground have much more detail.

Closeup detail: Ferns on forest floor in Cedar Lee painting

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.

Birch forest painting by Cedar Lee

The original painting is available, as well as fine art reproductions of this image.

Cedar Lee

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