This story began on a cool autumn morning in Vermont. The gleaming grey clouds created a harmony that I learned to love while studying art in college. This stately old barn (built in the late 1800s) presented itself as an excellent subject. Still, I always seem to need at least an hour to familiarize myself with the landscape and architecture's unique character before I begin a painting. So, I circled the barn searching for the perfect angle.

In one corner of the big old barn, a small tree had grown up healthy and green, tucked away from the fierceness of Vermont winters. The sight immediately struck a chord within me. I could feel the story as I remembered the line from John Denver’s song, Country Roads, “Life is old there, older than the trees.” This painting would be about an old barn and a new tree.

The painting became a finalist in the prestigious International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition and the first-place winner in the 2016 Member’s Only Competition, Portrait Society of America.