Forest of Amber and Gold, 2023

"Forest of Amber and Gold" was inspired by a lovely forest close to my studio in the Peak District. The painting has colours of amber, copper, red and gold with a mood of optimism and peaceful calm. Light falls through beautiful leaves while the delicate textures created with a palette knife create abstraction in the foreground. The fusion of distant light with dark shadows expresses the serenity of the forest and presents an impression of the spirit of nature in fall. With intuitive imaginative development of the painting it is a window to a world where peace and vitality coexist.
An original artwork, one of a kind, this painting has been created with high quality acrylic paints on deep edged canvas. I begin with observation of the place making notes and taking photographs to work from in the studio. From these beginnings I work intuitively, painting some base layers with a brush and then impasto techniques layer on layer applied with a palette knife. Harnessing optical mixing techniques employed by the impressionists I continue working until the painting reaches a natural conclusion. The painting continues round the sides a frame is not needed and it is ready to hang.