
Souls Of The Ashdown Forest, 2020
Gill Bustamante
Oil on canvas
Original Painting, 121.92 x 91.44 x 3.81 cm
Gill Bustamante Art
OurExpert's
Perspective
Gill Bustamante is definitely a dreamer as her ambition is to paint a way out of this universe into a better one! Most of her artworks feature pathways, portals and little mystery roots to other realities.
Her painting style is a fusion of expressionism, impressionism, semi-abstract and art nouveau. All depictions of fairytale landscapes, dreamy animals, mystery birds, horses and deer. Her techniques and ideas stand out to such an extent, they make a statement for themselves.
This artist is worth following if you just have the urge to escape out this world and dive into some wonderful places.
Curated byKelly Kaimaki, Creative Writer / Curator
About Gill Bustamante
My paintings are completely unique in style.
I often paint from memory as it better allows me to move beyond traditional realism, and into magical realism using colour, texture and light to express the magic I sense in wild meadows, forests, seas and rivers.
Animals, pathways, and portals are recurring motifs in my painting’s, often as symbols of transition, curiosity, and the mysteries that lie just beyond the visible. I am fascinated by the folklore and hidden stories woven into the countryside, and I strive to share that sense of wonder and connection through my art.
My technique is rooted in traditional oil painting, but I build each piece with layers of glaze, texture, and intuitive, art nouveau like, brush stokes, letting the painting evolve organically as a controlled chaos.
My goal is to inspire a deeper appreciation for the natural world and to encourage its protection as well as to provide a place to escape beyond the mundane.
Each painting is a captured universe—a place where viewers can lose themselves, dream, and perhaps glimpse the magic that still lingers in the land and in nature.
About the Product
Souls of the Ashdown Forest is a 36 x 48 x 1.5 inches oil painting of a view through the trees of the Ashdown Forest towards some deer in the heather.
It was inspired by many walks in the area – especially during lockdown 2020. You often see deer around here, but deer being deer, you only get to see them for seconds at a time before they flash their white bum’s at you and vanish into the trees. This particular painting was of a view from one of the clumps of trees in the area looking towards the farmland and heather and heathland beyond. It has been made by building up layers of paint until it has a green-gold glow in the first section and colder purples, lilacs, and yellow in the spaces between the trees. A deer stag can be seen on the left looking back at us, and a string of females can be seen on the right, moving off into the distance. The heather of the forest is loosely approximated by using purple, which contrasts with the green gold in an interesting way.
It is semi-abstract and a kind of messy art nouveau in style. It is on deep edge canvas, white edges, ready to hang.
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