The Spirit Guide, 2020

The Spirit Guide is a 40x40 inches original oil on canvas of a shimmering autumn woodland path with a deer stag at the end of the path. He is a fallow deer stag and he is painted in sharp focus so that he is in contrast to the rest of the landscape which is painted in a semi-abstract style and an ‘out of focus’ contemporary style. Deer, in many cultures, are believed to be spiritual entities that can guide you to where you need to go. I like this idea and often return to it. The inspiration for the landscape itself is a path near where I live in the Sussex area. The postcode is approximately RH194HW. Autumn landscapes are fun to paint but do not last long and so I painted the painting to look more transitory than a normal landscape. It adds to the idea of a brief moment in time captured and urgency to follow the stag while it is still possible... It is painted on deep edge canvas, white, ready to hang, no frame needed. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4yXJmBvYdo