Wood Cutters

Woodland management is a common enough activity in state owned forests and this scene would be a weekday, or working day, sight. Its from memory and imagination and I think because of the method of painting it hovers between a realist and a fantasy  scene. Without knowing the title of the painting you would be forgiven for thinking this was a secret meeting of witches, casting their spells.

The method delivers an image which would appear, at first sight, to be ‘photographic’ but on closer inspection we see the lines which define a sketch. I find myself in the gap between these two painting styles. Sometimes a painting can look like a photograph (here or here), or a non realist work (here or here) and I have to try not to stray too far into either camp. Realism does have a magnetic effect on the viewer and it draws him/her into the painting. It also speaks of proficiency in producing the real world so any deviation from reality in the painting becomes a deliberate statement and not a shortfall in skill. Check out this site for a bit of good advice regarding fitting the medium to the subject matter of the picture. Its not entirely the same as the point I’m making, but somehow it seems to strike a chord.

This painting does not have a definite structure, it grew from the background towards the viewer, with each layer composed, based on what went before. For me it gives a good impression of the chaos and randomness of a woodland. The only relief is the stream on the lower left which is the ‘pathway’ into the painting. The brush is in constant motion over the entire surface of the painting, creating a ‘random pattern’ which is in fact obeying the strict rules of design and composition. Its time consuming and tedious. (see previous post)

Here’s the video. By the way, the all the videos are 720 HD which means you can change the quality settings on your viewer to large size High Definition. This is why I’m limited to under 15 minutes. Its a trade off between quality or quantity. Until next painting, bye, bye!