“Maple Tree”

Colored pencil on toned paper
16 x 13” framed 2025

Signed & dated by the artist.

Across the parking lot from a local pet salon in downtown Eugene is a large maple tree. Majestic, even with the no trespassing sign, poo bag dispenser and garbage bag affixed to the trunk. (Recently, those items had been removed.)

This drawing was produced from one of many photos I’d taken there over the summer. Prismacolor colored pencil work on Canson Mi-Teintes Pastel is slow in terms of layering. The surface is durable and I like the sanded texture. Earth tones lend well to landscapes.

The subject offers me flexibility as nature is always changing, and the opportunity to work in a range between realism and Impressionism as I build color, tone and abstract shapes.

Lael Salaets Art Studio

Lael Salaets | Eugene, OR

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