Maple Path: An In-Depth Look

I went to Japan over Thanksgiving to explore the famous fall colors in Kyoto.  The mountains surrounding the city are full of Buddhist temples with incredible gardens and maple trees.  My favorite part of Kyoto was Arashiyama Park, home to several beautiful temples and wide, expansive grounds of natural beauty.

I perceive trees to be the people of the landscape.  Each tree is unique and has its own spiritual personality.  I love capturing their graceful bows and ever-changing pattern of leaves with my paint brush.

The painting "Maple Path" captures a scene from Sogenchi Garden, at the Tenryu-ji Temple. You can see the world-famous bamboo grove in the background behind the maple trees. It was interesting how the different maple trees changed color at different rates. There would be one maple with every single leaf a bright cadmium-yellow, and several feet away would be a maple with a whole rainbow of hues from yellow to purple... and yet further down the walk would be a maple clothed exclusively in brilliant oranges and reds.

The brush strokes in "Maple Path" are loose and impressionistic, conveying a sense of movement within the painting. When you see the painting in person, you can experience the thick texture of the paint and lustrous sheen of the oil color.

The painting will be framed in a gilded floater frame, to set off the colors in the piece. Here is a digital "in-room mockup" of the painting, so you can get a sense of the painting's dimensions:

Maple Path
Oil on canvas, 48 x 71 inches

View my collection of Japanese Maple paintings here.

I hope you enjoyed the in-depth look!

Sincerely,
Erin Hanson