TM8283 Deep in the Woods 12×12 oil on panel

Paintings can often take one on a journey to unexpected places. When I began this little woodland view, I was quite certain that I would be painting a piece of Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in central Massachusetts. But it isn’t the view I originally intended. Instead, it became a darker, more mythic view. I almost feel as though it is the setting for an ancient fairy tale – perhaps Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel. But then the northern landscape, with its pine, hemlock, and mountains is a part of so many legends and tales. It could be a native American myth, or a setting from the very real King Philip’s War. Landscape art is about so many things on so many levels. Landscapes tell stories, evoke memories, record events. Landscapes (and by extension Art),  are always an interpretation and translation from the real – they show us our unconscious and conscious simultaneously. So now you have a clue about me. What does this painting mean to you? Enjoy!