Silhouettes in the Woods

Here I am returning to a favourite subject – a family of horses which for years lived in the field next to me .  I used to glimpse them everyday through the canopy of trees as I drove past.  I am excited to be looking at this subject again especially after working on spatial and abstract series.  Here is a set of 16 little sections, and a sample of one of them.   Each is a seed for further work.  Only the trees remain, as this ancient field, “The Seven Sisters” has succumbed to houses and streets and also lost its rich wildlife.

Here is a version (800 x 600 mm)  which considers space rather than detail.  Becomes clear that the upper part of the picture is lighter with the dark silhouettes of the stationery horses outlined.  Below that there is a very dark area and then the scrub and foliage.  I really enjoyed that!

I was still not satisfied.  I still felt bound to the subject.  Although I loved  the subject, I felt there was something else to explore, and I made 16 little canvases 360 x 280 mm from sections of the original photo.  I am getting nearer a new and deeper level, in which each area has its own energy and life.  But it takes time.  I particularly enjoyed the foliage.   Here are a few of those little pieces.  I am  realising that the key is the horse silhouettes.  Those are the most interesting for me.

The series of small paintings have now thrown up a deep library of shapes and ideas.  Here are two “travelling” versions of the subject, done spontaneously, drawing on the haptic knowledge gained from creating the small paintings.