Spirit Trees

Paul Cezanne told an admirer, "See that tree? Paint it the bluest blue that you can." Why not? It adds another dimension to an already riotous late fall scene, and just in time for Halloween. Barren trees cast stark shadows across grass wearing its pale winter colors. An explosion of yellow envelops surrounding canopies.

But what about the blue? Now we have a pair of twisted titans--one bent at the waist--reaching left as if to snare the unwary traveler. Lurid red light reflects from the nether realms. The only normal foliage, a clump of green brush at the right, seems to lean away from these aberrations. Brown shadow at lower right keeps the ground a warm hue. A touch of lavender at lower left contrasts with the sunlit yellow hillock. Dry blends predominate in keeping with the sere autumn weather. As with painting sky scenes, going all Cezanne isn't for the timid. Let those colors fly.