The Red Tree House

The Red Tree House

Original by:      Claude Chapdelaine
Title:                 The Tree House
Year:                 2014
Medium:           Acrylic
Size:                 12"x12"x1" canvas with black lacquered wood frame
Price:                $0
Status:              Sold to private collector

I like the idea of tree houses.  I'd have to say the first time I really got the notion that it would be lots of fun to live in trees was when I was about 7 years old after watching old Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.

The notion of wanting to live in the woods eventually disappeared and I envisioned moving out of the small town and living instead in a city, to roam and play in the urban jungle.   And tree houses, like bird houses stayed as part of my wonderment.

I had sketched the house before I sketched the tree.  I wanted it to be the focal point even though I feel the trees branch have a strong hold on the house like a captive.  I used a medium black water based marker to draw the picture on a 10x10 inch canvas.  

As the series of photos below show, I applied acrylic paint to first; the tree, the house, the background sky, and the leaves.  I found the blue/violet background a bit too somber so I applied a light shade of green to invoke the presence of foliage without having to detail more leaves.