This is my first large format painting on a wood panel!  It was commissioned by Michael Moore for his back patio. He added a grilling area complete with a stone fireplace and circular patio. However, the large bare garage wall was rather soul sucking so he decided he would like a large panel to break up the space and give that view a bit of interest. This panel will be mounted on his garage wall. It needed to be at least  is 7 ft long and 3.5 ft wide and would need to be able to weather the elements.  It also needed to be subtle too in order to blend with the house, fireplace and  trees surrounding the  the patio.  This was a fun challenge for me to undertake!

Off to Home Depot we went… I decided to construct the frame from a solid birch panel and 2 x 2's!  Just getting strapped on top of the car was comical enough. Michael and my husband Jay got it into my studio for me.  I then set about sealing it which took several applications and then primed it with Klinz. I used diluted house paint for the actual tree. Of course, Arthur's curiosity got the best of him and he had some extra white spots for a while…..

I based the picture itself from many pictures I took while exploring Cumberland island back in August 2011.  Jay and I spent the morning taking pictures of the wild horses and wild blown live oaks. Later that afternoon, he proposed to me on the beach. I have always wanted to use these pictures in a piece. This project seemed to fit the bill just perfectly!