Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Winter: Tree Silhouettes

Gray Tree by Mondrian
The last of autumnal brilliance was suddenly over after days of unceasing rain. Trees with vibrant leaves of reds, oranges and yellows were gone. A winter wardrobe of predominantly monochromatic greys and browns took over, punctuated with black. With a periodic blanket of white snow, the winter is elegantly minimal and majestically solemn.

When leaving my piano lesson, I saw these caulked street cracks and they reminded me of the stark winter trees, bereft of leaves. The Dutch artist Piet Mondrian came to mind, with his early gray and black drawings and paintings of trees.

I've always liked definitive lines, boldly stroked and interlacing gracefully. The street laborer who caulked these cracks was making large scale drawings with tar and concrete. How fun is that!

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