Original artwork description:

400 Year Old Chestnut Tree

For the last few months I have been going out into the landscape to paint places that are of interest to me.
I love Greenwich Park, partly because it is within easy reach of my studio, but also because it affords amazing views of London and because it has a great History attached to it. I was attracted to the idea of painting the old Chestnut Trees on this occasion - I had drawn them previously and knew they would be interesting to paint. I looked up the trees and they are very old.
“In the early 1660's, Charles II commissioned Le Notre (gardener to Louis XIV) to design the formal French-style layout of Greenwich Park, much of which remains today with its impressive avenues of sweet (Spanish) chestnut. Many of these trees remain as 'veterans' more than 400 years old.” Greenwich Park Website.
On this occasion it was a cold and misty November day and I was struck by how the how the tree was surrounded by the atmospheric subdued colours of the park.

Materials used:

acrylic

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