Pines on blue

The composition looks up into the crowns of tall pines, their reddish-brown trunks and branches crisscrossing a deep blue sky. Clusters of golden-green needles catch the light at left and along the upper edges, while darker green boughs recede into shadow at right, framing open patches of sky at the center.

Thick ridges of paint, built up with a palette knife, form the branches and foliage in high relief, while the sky is worked in sweeping vertical strokes of cobalt and ultramarine. The high-key contrast between the electric blue ground and golden foliage gives the canvas a charged, sun-struck brilliance.