Here is “Camas Beauties.”
Camas Beauties. 72″ x 24″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2023 Cedar Lee
I created this commissioned piece in a custom size to fit perfectly on the client’s wall.
At six feet tall, it is large enough to fill the soaring space in their entryway stairwell.
This painting is more than a year in the making! The client has followed my work for years, and we finally met in person at one of my art openings in the winter of 2021. Although she liked the new artwork displayed that day in my show, none of the pieces were a perfect fit for her needs. She told me she wanted a custom piece made just for her home.
So we made plans for me to go out to her property to photograph these two incredibly tall trees in her front yard that hold a lot of meaning for her and her family.
Between our busy schedules and the stubborn Pacific Northwest weather—we wanted to wait for a sunny day—it took us about six months to land on a date for the photo shoot! But it was worth the wait, as I ended up getting a lot of photos to use in a possible design for this custom piece. The two trees are so enormous that I had to experiment with many different camera angles to try and capture them.
At this time, I also photographed the empty wall in her stairwell that needed a piece of art, and my job was to come up with the perfect statement piece to fit that spot.
With the reference photos I took, and the photos of the empty wall, I was able to create mockups for the client of what different options might look like, before deciding on a size and design for the piece. This one is what we landed on.
While of course I used the reference photo as a jumping-off point, it very much looks like an expressive painting, not just a copy of a photo.
The dramatic scale of this piece is hard to capture in photos.
You can see loose, expressive brush strokes throughout.
My signature style of painting the glow of scattered sunlight comes through in the colorful sunburst shining through from the background.
The feathery tips of swooping evergreen branches bring detail to some areas of the lush, dense foliage, filling the canvas with a sense of life and movement—the vitality in the gigantic trees.
Towards the bottom of the canvas, the background is filled with a warm and earthy golden-brown glow, which fades upwards into bright white sunlight with hints of a bright blue sky.
The vibrant red tones of the redwood trunk of the tree in the foreground complements the little hints of bright blue throughout.
Up close, the painting appears largely abstract, maintaining a freeness in the rough brush strokes and overlapping lines and shapes.
When you step back and view the painting from a distance, as it will be viewed most of the time, the whole image comes together into realism.
This vibrant statement piece will add depth and character to this beautifully designed interior space! Here’s what the finished painting will look like installed in the space.
And that gives you a glimpse into a successfully completed art commission process!
Prints of this painting are available.
