285. Somewhere in Lebanon

279. Middle of Another Row

277. Pines in the Foreground and Background

I never seem to tire of painting these pine trees. For those of you who have not heard the story of them, I will explain. In 2008, my daughter and I visited a village in Lebanon called Marjeyoun, the land of my ancestors. As we maneuvered the winding roads, I noticed a line of pine trees that took my breath away. It consisted of hundreds of pine trees like I had never seen before. Fast forward three years to our second visit to the same village. I commented to our family that I love these trees and have tried to paint them many times, unsuccessfully. Our cousin then told me that her father planted those trees so they could have pine nuts readily available. I was so touched to learn that these beautiful trees had been planted by my cousin in the land where my father's family originated and was determined to paint them to my enjoyment and satisfaction.

In painting these trees, I am focusing on negative space, economy of strokes and am not referring to the photo after the initial sketch, which is challenging.