early February 2010...As I was admiring over 100 blossoms blooming or about to bloom with leaves blowing in the breeze, the Angel Trumpet aroma permeated the air. The newspapers & the Weather Channel all predicted an Arctic Blast was headed our way. The blast came with a vengance: snow with temperatures plummetting with minus wind chill. It was the lowest low in 40 years. The bark was shriveled, the blossoms frozen, the leaves lifeless. The once beautiful Angel Trumpet tree looked like a very strange tree. My granddaughter commented that it was a "Spinach Tree". I had to paint it as I felt and saw it. It is on a gallery-wrapped 20x20 canvas.

Sienna Afternoon, named from the color Burnt Sienna, is a multi-media piece. In this piece, I used acrylic paint and crackle paste. Crackle paste is a medium which is put on a wood surface with a large palette knife, and let dry for several days. It creates a cracked earth effect.