Garden Shadows

Size (h w d): 30 x 40 x 1.5 in

Medium: Oil On Canvas

Description: Sometimes a garden walk is about what you don’t see, what lingers in the shadows of the trees or lingers behind the garden gate. When the foliage projects shadows onto a patch of cheerfully colored flowers obliviously conversing with one another, suddenly the flowers take on a human-like character. The bold dark paint streaks, edit the view of the garden so the viewer only can see bits and pieces of the botanicals. Is nature editing our perceptions? Can humans only emotionally see so much beauty without constraints?

As an artist who avoids outside inspiration at all costs, I often find myself projecting into a work of art what may be a buried past impression. No doubt because I love the beauty of nature and have walked through many gardens around the world, those impressions reside deep within. So on completion of this painting, as so often happens this work found its own name. When I stepped back and looked at the completed work, it became emotionally obvious that this was an interpretation of a garden with strong obstacles obscuring the idyllic view. The conclusion from this painting for me is, perhaps when life presents obstacles and obstructions, its what you don’t see that makes humans appreciate the little windows of beauty that appear unexpectedly in life.