Beech Tree Morning is a vibrant studio impressionistic acrylic painting that captures the luminous early-morning light filtering through one of Don Yaun’s favorite beech trees on his 11½-acre wooded homestead in Buford, Georgia. This 30″ × 24″ work, completed in 2022, focuses on a majestic cluster of large branches that have captivated Don since the early 1980s, when he first dreamed of building a treehouse 30–40 feet in the air. After realizing no safe design was possible, he turned to painting the spot instead.
The piece underwent multiple transformations: initial versions with top lighting were too dark and silhouetted; adjustments to a lower sun source brought brighter, more carefree colors, renaming it “Beech Tree Morning.” Despite several revisions, Don felt the tree’s colors never fully aligned with his vision. The 2022 iteration (shown here) is the version that is closest to his mission—though he later painted over the canvas, deeming it a “complete failure” for not meeting his undefined goal. It exists now only as prints, a rare case where the artist admits he didn’t know when to stop.
The painting remains a poignant reminder of the homestead’s enduring beauty and Don’s ongoing dialogue with nature—sometimes joyful, sometimes frustrating, always deeply personal.
