Birds, plum blossoms, and bamboo in winter

Set among a few scattered stems of snow-dusted bamboo, a large flowering plum tree is the main focus of this painting. The plum generally blooms around the Chinese lunar new year in mid- to late January, when most other vegetation lies dormant. All at once, blossoms sprout from supple shoots along the dark, leafless branches, signaling the imminent arrival of spring. Though its delicate flowers survive only briefly in the harshness of winter, the tree may live for many years, its limbs and trunk slowly growing into oddly configured gnarls and angles.