From the time I met the paper birch in our front yard I have always been fascinated by the delicately detailed white bark of birch trees etched with deep contrast gray and black seams and splits. The trunks seemed to emit their own faint light in any season. Here, in the darkness of the woods, the grouping of white trunks looks like a crowd clustered for discussion, decorated by a maple branch and its brilliant leaves all in different stages of fall changes.

The original of this painting was oil pastel, 24.5″ x 18″, on 300 lb. smooth watercolor paper. The technique was an experiment borne of an off-hand remark from a fellow artist. I had tried to use oil pastels several times but they always felt like crayons to me. But I had just been experimenting with oil pastels and as I tried some techniques handed down to me by other artists and they soon grew to have their own life as I understood the best ways to achieve the colors and textures I wanted.

I saw this photo and got the idea this painting needed to be in oil pastel. The artist friend mentioned that you could also work with them using turpentine, either softening the crayons in it or drawing on the paper, then painting turpentine over the oil pastel to blend or spread. I chose to use a combination of these as well as wetting the paper with the turpentine and drawing on that area with the oil pastel. The resulting painting actually looks dimensional, and I know it’s only because of the different textures in the work.

This is the only time I’ve used this technique because I learned soon after from yet another artist that the turpentine yellows the paper in areas that don’t have a full covering of another medium. It’s a good thing I layered on that white and gray—who would want to see yellow birch trunks? But primed canvas would be fine because of the gesso priming, and though I’ve had the urge to try that since I painted this in 1998, I’ve been using acrylic paint instead. But autumn with all its colors and chaotic shapes is a good season to look for subjects

Detail images of Birches 1: Radiance

Available prints of Birches 1: Autumn Showers

I offer all sorts of prints on paper and canvas, some of which I have on hand, some of which, like canvas prints and giclee prints, I order when I receive and order for one. To have canvas and giclee prints on hand for all the artwork I have would be a huge investment and also I’d need another house to store it in, not kidding. But with some artwork like this painting I often have at least one framed print and a canvas print or two. In this case I have one of each.

The print is actually 12″ x 15″, smaller than the original, framed with a double white mat in a marbled coppery finish wood frame. It was difficult to photograph and catch the colors correctly but the bottom rail represents the frame color and pattern best. The edges of the mat look like gray but that’s just a shadow from the lighting—both mats are white.

I also have one 16″ x 20″ canvas print, photos below.

And it’s not wall art, but I have a garden flag too.

Where to find Birches 1: Autumn Showers

Visit the product listing for all the options that are available for prints.

The garden flag is a separate listing.

Birches 2: Radiance, the companion to Birches 1: Autumn Showers

Also see Birches 2: Radiance.

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2016-2026 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.