Redbud spring..a painting's story

Redbud Spring--9 by 12 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

Flowering redbud trees stand out like brilliant lace  in early spring against other still leafless trees, even on a cold, gloomy day such as this. 
They hold the promise of even more beauty, when the sun shines  and the humid air and breezes lift clouds through the blue skies, and stir their branches into a melody of motion.
They're difficult to paint, with varying colors and infinite forms, so any attempt is just a representation of shapes and colors. Thus today's painting, an image sealed in my mind from a 20-year-old-story by journalist Rick Bragg, describing dogwood in Alabama.

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Below--the stages of the painting.