It was a beautiful weekend, wasn’t it? I stepped into the sunshine and thought, ‘What a glorious day to paint a picture!’ There’s nothing like painting al fresco – if you ask me, it’s the only way to paint. Natural light reveals colours the best so you can compare what you’re seeing to what’s on canvas. I’d been eyeing off my neighbour’s tree for quite some time – an enormous Chinese Elm, and thought it would make the perfect subject matter for my latest artistic piece. So I got my easel and oils out, and set to work.

The strokes were looking good and the tree seemed to be enjoying the positive energy coming from my canvas. Then all of a sudden, halfway through my tree-portrait, I was interrupted by none other than the tree removal services. Oakleigh is a leafy ‘burb and I guess they had their eye on that tree as much as I did – but for different reasons. The guys set to work and I immediately went to the owner of the property to put up a protest. She said it was dead wood and it was becoming a hazard, but I was in total disbelief as to how anyone could do that to a poor tree. Trees provide us with oxygen and protect us from carbon emissions – we should be grateful!

As I was arguing with the owners, the tree removal company did their thing. There was nothing I could do to stop them from tree felling. Near Melbourne, a lot of trees receive such harsh treatment, but I suppose it’s for the best. As they say, from death comes new life. That empty space where the beautiful elm once was will one day support the life of a new sapling. For now, my painting will remain forever unfinished in memoriam to that tree.