Studie van een berk 1918

Mia Bake made this "Studie van een berk" with a delicate touch and acute observation. I am struck by how Bake has captured the solitude of the tree. You can see the subtle rendering of light and shadow on the leaves, the gentle way she has handled the earth and the water. I imagine Bake spending hours outside, carefully studying the landscape, trying to understand what a tree is. The act of observing and painting it seems like an emotional release, a conversation between the artist and nature. The painting isn't just about the final product, but also about the process of getting there, the accumulation of marks, and the artist’s willingness to embrace the unexpected, transforming the tree into a living, breathing thing.