Here is “Tropical Glow.”
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow.jpg)
In this painting, as our eyes follow the many weaving branches meandering above, we get lost in a sphere of golden light.
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-3-Insta.jpg)
My reference photos and ideas for this painting came from photos I took a couple years ago in a Hawaiian jungle. That jungle was lush and green. But I made the artistic decision to paint this scene in warm earth tones, with high contrast between dark and light.
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-Cedar-Studio-Scale-Insta.jpg)
It is really cool watching this one come together in the time lapse video of my process:
The image of tiny branches interweaving and reaching many fingers out into space is reminiscent of my earlier painting Arboreal Dendrites. That painting was also inspired by Hawaii’s jungles!
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-detail-1.jpg)
This is partially realistic, and partially an imaginary dream landscape, with its outlandish colors.
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-detail-2-Insta.jpg)
A bit of fantasy feels appropriate in the cold months of 2020. In a typical winter in the pre-pandemic world, I might be making plans to travel. I might go stay for a few days in a hostel in some faraway place in the tropics and take hundreds of photos to use as inspiration for future paintings.
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-detail-3-Insta.jpg)
This art embodies the feeling of escaping into paradise!
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-detail-4-Insta.jpg)
Imagine a beautiful, sun-drenched dome of tangled tropical plants curving above us. Imagine gazing up into sunshine which pleasantly warms our faces. This painting offers an invitation to get lost in its details.
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-detail-5-Insta.jpg)
The original is large, 36″ in diameter. Besides the original painting, circular art prints of this one are also currently available!
![](https://www.artbycedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tropical-Glow-Cedar-Studio-Scale-2.jpg)