– Bob Bahr reporting, Editor PleinAir Today –
Jude Tolar could not resist painting these brilliant redbud blossoms, and who can blame her?
Lead Image: Redbuds mean “serious spring,” according to Jude Tolar.
“These redbuds are in our yard in Stillwater, Oklahoma, a university town,” says Tolar. “Native to the area, they herald serious spring. They follow daffodils and winter jasmine, and normally bloom in early April. This year, however, a mild winter has led to a month-early floral timetable.”
Tolar continues, “I find the color of redbuds to be welcome warmth after the quiet neutrals of winter. Redbuds also seem magical, producing red-violet beauty in tree form, before most other tree species even wake up from winter. The fanfare is ephemeral, though, with about a three-week window for painting en plein air. Sometimes that means painting even as a low-pressure trough pushes 45-mph winds into the area.”
That may be Tolar’s way of saying it was a challenge to paint these — but a challenge worth the effort.
