I will not deny it, I am a big kid! At least when it comes to visuals. If I were asked, I would move into the forest of Show White, or Totoro, in a heart beat!
At the moment, I am embracing this side of me, while staying on my beloved forest theme in my paintings. I just love trees, and simplifying them is a project that has been going on for years. No tree is alike, no color is easy to interpret, and no still painted tree will ever be able to show just the amount of movement and life that I see when I look at the real thing. Getting closer is a thrill though. And the more simplified I can make them, the more thrilling it feels to me.
So what is it about the cartoons? I just want to jump into them, run around, lie down and melt into the forest floor. The grass looks like thin gello somewhow, and the trees look like they would be great huggers. My favorite tree is birch, especially the big ones, with the drooping branches. Like the great birch tree outside my bedroom window at home. The thin branches have heavy clusters of leaves slowly waving in the wind, bending the larger branch holding them all, slightly down towards the earth, and me.
I wish I knew how far the branches reach under ground. I know it's further than we think. You know how the forest paths sometimes feel a bit bouncy? It's not just the moss or soil being all nice and soft, but a net of roots intertwined beneath us. They form blankets under the ground. When you visit parts of the forest with heavy foot traffic, you can see some of the top layers of roots. Who hasn't tripped on one of those... Dogs. Because they are perfect! Anyway...
Isn't it interesting how no tree is the same, but all the leaves are almost identical? I am getting distracted by my birch tree now. It is late spring, and I have been fortunate to enjoy her getting dressed, for a few weeks now. But only a few days fully clothed. She actually blocks a lot of our view, so that when winter comes, and she is all naked again, at least we get to see more of our fjord. This is my favorite part of the year though, when all the life in the forest wakes up. All the trees flower and smell so wonderful. What if all this could be captured in a painting. Many people have tried, and are still trying. And I adore the attempts!
For 6 months of the year, all this is covered by snow here in Norway, and this is when I need these paintings the most. One day I will have a spring room in my house, not with paintings, but with wall to wall murals of these cartoon forests, capturing the simplified energy, the bare essence basically, of the nature surrounding us. Right now I will have to settle with a green bedroom looking out on maybe Oslos largest birch tree. Which is pretty good too!
My next small series of forest paintings is coming in June 2024.
