Big Magic on Frog Mountain

A friend of mine who is an avid hiker posted this photo from a backpacking trip and I immediately felt that I had to paint it. I was fascinated by the ultramarine mist the trees faded into in the photo and wanted to challenge myself to replicate that effect as well as all the intricate branches. This piece reminded me how important the process of artmaking itself is to my work. I found this process to be a meditative metaphor for life. I get overwhelmed trying to understand exactly how all these branches intertwine and where to begin painting. But I take a breath, slow down, and try to find just one point of reference where I can anchor myself and begin piecing it together from there, branch by branch. I can’t possibly focus on an entire tree, but I can see what the very next line is, the very next stroke. And suddenly the image begins to emerge and my vision comes together. It was a painstaking process that required precision, enormous patience, and many hours. I first created the sunset and background in pastel, then drew the outlines of the trees and painted them in with ink. The painting is sprayed with a pastel fixative.
 
The last two images are in-progress photos before and during painting the tree silhouettes.
 
Mixed Media: Pastel and ink
24" x 18" x 1 5/8"
This artwork is sold unframed. It has a wire on the back, ready to hang!