Sunshine

I started creating this painting four years ago, but stopped before it was finished because something about its rough, unfinished state pleased me. I hung it on the wall in my home and lived with it and loved it. This week, I decided to revisit the painting and finish it all the way! Here is the final result:

“Sunshine.”

This painting evokes a feeling of pleasant warmth and joy. It brings with it a fantasy of childhood freedom, the carefree feeling of tromping through the woods, surrounded by birdsong.

The space around the massive trees is filled with yellow sunlight.

Summer grasses fill the foreground, framing the bright opening between the two center trees. In the distance beyond, washed out by the sun, there are hints of more foliage.

At the periphery, the tree trunks are painted in deep shadows of crimson and inky purple.

There are abstract, painterly elements throughout the image–from a distance, it is the forest, but upon closer inspection, you can see rough smears of color that were applied with a palette knife.

It is painted on a heavy, sturdy wood panel.

The color continues around the deep edges for a bold, three-dimensional effect.