Pink Blossom Under a White Veil

Part of the "Covered Trees" series.
Oil on canvas, studio work following a number of pen and gouache sketches done on-site.

The covered trees around the village fascinate me. Their strange shapes get my imagination going.
The very act of wrapping a tree with a net demanded I stop and look. Why do they do that? How does it transform the shape of the tree?
The nets make the three-dimensional form of the trees very simplified and clear.
They both protect and constrict them.
The net protects the delicate flowers from hailstones and dust.
They restrict the tree from growing naturally, but a few branches always break out.