Villars-sur-Ollon. Blooming tree in front of the Temple. 15.05.2025. 16x27cm

Villars-sur-Ollon. Blooming Tree in Front of the Temple. 15.05.2025

This original plein-air oil painting was created in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, in May 2025. Painted directly outdoors, the work captures a flowering tree standing beside the village temple, set against the dark mountain slopes of the Vaud Alps.

At the centre of the composition, a blooming tree glows with delicate pink blossoms. Its luminous colours contrast with the deep green and blue-grey mountain backdrop rising behind the village. The flowering branches seem to gather and reflect the spring light, becoming the visual heart of the painting.

The temple appears partially hidden among trees and gardens, its pale walls catching the sunlight. Rather than serving as the main subject, the building acts as a quiet architectural presence that anchors the scene within the village landscape. The relationship between the flowering tree, the temple and the mountain creates a balance between nature, human history and the surrounding alpine environment.

The painting is built with expressive brushwork and a restrained palette of greens, whites, pinks and soft violet-grey tones. Details remain intentionally simplified, allowing atmosphere and colour relationships to become more important than precise description. The blossoms emerge almost like a burst of light against the darker mass of the mountain.

Spring in Villars-sur-Ollon transforms the alpine landscape. Flowering trees appear throughout the village while the surrounding slopes remain marked by the cool colours of higher elevations. This brief seasonal contrast creates moments where delicate blossoms and monumental mountains coexist within the same view.

On this May day, the flowering tree seemed to illuminate the entire scene. The painting preserves a fleeting encounter with spring light, where the freshness of new growth stood out against the enduring presence of the mountain beyond.

Created during a single plein-air painting session, this work belongs to my ongoing series dedicated to the villages, mountains and landscapes of the canton of Vaud. Each painting records a direct experience of place, season and atmosphere observed outdoors in nature.

Original plein-air oil painting by Olga Tacan.

Location: Villars-sur-Ollon, Vaud, Switzerland
Subject: Flowering tree and temple in spring
Region: Vaud Alps, Switzerland
Medium: Oil painting
Date painted: 15 May 2025

Oil on paper

Plain air painting

Size 16cm x 27cm

Size with passé-partout  28x44cm 

Date: 15 May 2025

Location: Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland