A forest of trees at Edisto Fine Art

The month of November the theme at Edisto Fine Art is paintings of trees, a subject very familiar to landscape painters, and especially dear to my heart. You will see more examples on the walls throughout Indigo, the decor shop that houses the gallery located at 805 Oyster Park Drive on Edisto Island, SC.
The live oak trees of the South are a subject as challenging to the painter as they are appealing, as the crown often spreads twice as wide as the tree is tall, with complex networks of branches and openings. They often have a multi-trunked structure, and branches reach horizontally, sometimes touching the ground and then arcing back up, even growing roots there given time. This spreading nature helps them withstand and survive hurricane winds. The twisting forms of the branches are obscured and softened by resurrection fern and Spanish moss, which is actually an air plant. Ubiquitous mop-like palmettos (Sabal palm, the state tree of South Carolina) present their own challenges.
When I draw or paint trees, I sometimes try to capture the mass of the crown of foliage, but I am most interested in how the trunk and branches relate to the structure of the human or animal body. They form an armature for the leaves which is like the bones and muscles of a creature, become gnarled with age, and the bark bears the scars of wounds received. 
We are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 to 5, and artist Nancy Zydler is often in the gallery at her easel. Stop by and say hello!

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