Ink or Paint

Geez, I must've been busy lately. I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted over here. I inspired Phelan to take up her keyboard and but her works online, and then dropped off myself. Sorry, to you three people a month who pop in here. :)

My wife A~ recently "commissioned" a painting from me. Actually she pestered me into getting out the brushes again after nearly 10 years and wanted me to paint a somber tree-centric piece for our front room. I've worked on a couple of studies this week to see if 1) I still had any ability, and 2) how I wanted to do this piece. I thought I'd share with you and see what you thought. I'll be painting the final work this afternoon, so input won't really have any impact on the final piece, but I am curious.

This was the first study that I did. It was done with black India ink and some white acrylic paint. I like some elements of it, but it really doesn't speak to me. I thought the tree came out too blocky and essentially lifeless.

This was the second, and I have to say my favorite of the two. I painted it with white acrylic and some ordinary black latex interior home paint. An odd choice, I know, but it was what I had on hand, and I think the richness of it worked nicely. I definitely liked the tree better on this one. It has a bit more life to it, and seems to tell a story.

I'd love to hear any ones thoughts, and I'll try to post a photo of the finished piece over the weekend.
P~