This is the second part of my two-part notes about my series of paintings titled My Forest.

In part one I talked about the paintings on paper and how collage helped those progress.

In part two it’s all about the work I did on canvases.

I used a variety of supplies to make these pictures. I focused on developing a color palette including some earth tones. Burnt sienna and yellow ochre are really surprising me with how they adapt, blend, and complete other colors. I also wanted to use more line work.

I’ve found I like a painting to be wild and a little out of my hands. I don’t go in with a final outcome in mind.

Marks and reactions that could seem like missteps feel more fine art to me.

This is a more recent thought, but I recognize this in what I’ve always done.

I used very loose line work with water soluble crayons to start the surfaces of these canvases. As with the paintings on paper, working on many surfaces at once gave me interesting ideas and problems. The collection was brought up together like keeping plates spinning in the air. Nobody got left behind.

Each layer of painting formed such unique surfaces to build upon.

As my canvas work moved forward the time came to paint slower. The collages are a distant view of my landscape. The paintings are close up.

While considering the compositions and images available to me; a spooky fantasy vibe came into play. I found new symbol shapes to add to my collection: stick people and brush.

Abstracting the human and plant forms is about more than painting to document my literal activities or surroundings.

The feeling of the characters, marks, and objects makes the story curious and hidden. This series is the result of creating mirages from ordinary situations. It’s spring, but it’s a darker forest.