Near Rucphen

During our walks in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) we did see a lot of young trees, new leaves, blossoms and other signs of spring.  
In our Natural reserves there is also a lot of dead wood, tree trunks standing or lying where they died and left there as food for insects, shelter for birds and small animals and in the end to fertilise the soil. Of course the dead trees that are hazardous will be removed and some are removed to give more open spaces in what once was a production woodland.

Near a crossroads there was a tree trunk standing and another one lying on the ground, both were pine trees, and just behind them was a young birch tree.
The contrast between the young tree and the decay of the other two inspired me to make some reference pictures.

For this painting I chose a larger size paper than I have used over the past months, to give the trees some space on the paper. 
The background is only suggested, as is the foreground. That bit of forest floor near the crossroads did not have any bushes or other plants. There are a lot of possibilities for signposted walks with dogs or horses and some paths for recreational bike rides so the sides of the paths are relatively 'clean'.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size and availability are to be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com