The Texas Madrone tree, with its ever-peeling bark is showy, but picky. Like a woman. It's often called a Naked Lady tree because the bark strips itself off revealing strong, bare trunks that vary from bright red to pale pink to white as the tree ages. The tree can grow up to thirty feet tall to tower over oak and pine in the high desert, but it resists too much moisture or rooting in soil too rich. The wood is so hard, Native Americans used it for the strongest of tools.

Madrones are evergreen, rare enough and colorful enough to delight you when you see one. And you'll likely only find one tree. It's unusual to find a grove of Madrone, perhaps because these show-stoppers each seek all the attention, and thus spread out and find different places to root. This solitary tree balanced on a rocky slope in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park, flashing bare pink legs even on a cold day in January.

This a fully developed, very highly detailed miniature done entirely with soft pastel sticks, which are each about the size of your index finger. Getting this kind of detail means using a light touch with the very edge of a pastel stick, and I usually reserve that kind of attention for larger works. But it's my last painting of 2020, so I decided to choose a subject that was both rich in detail and a little symbolic of this past year. Hard times grow hard wood.

This simple, popular frame is deep enough to stand on its own on a shelf. Or, set it on a table easel-- the linen paper backing makes a tidy presentation. It is wired for conventional hanging, and would work in a grouping or as a solo artwork that captures all the attention. (Like the tree.)