Sunburst

This 30″ x 30″ arylic painting, “Sunburst,” is a new iteration of the sunburst in the center of my previous panorama-format painting, “Prismatic Canopy.”

Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

I’ve been painting my Looking Up Collection, paintings of trees, since 2005. It’s the longest-running body of work I have created, and I’m still adding to it!

Artist with painting: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

The consistent theme throughout this body of work is the trees. But in the past couple years, I’ve added a new component: The sun.

Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

I’ve not only been adding the sun into most of my paintings, but also incorporating effects into some of my recent work that are only seen in photographs, like halos and lens flares.

Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee
Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee
Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

This artwork is about prisms and rainbows, the scattering of light as it separates into all the different colors, and the blinding radiance of pure white light when it hits our eyes.

Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

Some of these paintings thus have become more about playing with light than they are about the subject matter of the trees.

Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee
Detail: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

There is potential in painting light in this way for endless artistic experiments with color!

Artist with painting: Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

Yet, the trees are still there. The backdrop is always a beautiful forest. The theme of this painting is the full spectrum of visible light, against the backdrop of a Pacific Northwest forest.

Sunburst. 30” x 30″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2021 Cedar Lee

2 thoughts on “Sunburst”

  1. Thank you for bringing me much joy, Cedar. I’ve been in your circle since before I lived in beautiful East Portland, and now with my new home in Muncie the home of Ball State University and it’s College of Architecture and Planning, I will forever watch for new creations you bring the world, from Oregon. Hey – I miss Asheville too 😉

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