Twilight Birches, 2023

I remember a quiet walk at twilight in the snow through a birch wood where the sunset created gentle shadows against the crisp white background. The dusky light is mellow with tones of pink and the dark textures of the birch bark are striking against the crisp snow.

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 and some of the methods of the Old Masters such as scumbling and glazing, I continue working until the painting reaches a natural conclusion. The result is a contemporary painting, which lies somewhere between abstraction and realism. The painting continues round the sides and it is ready to hang.