The woods is a real place out there, and a metaphor for our own unknowns.It can mean an adventure, or a leap into getting lost. There may be a path, but one could just as easily find an extensive swamp or thicket needing navigation.  Who will find the way? Beginning a new series of paintings means leaping into the unknown. What approach to take, what techniques need to be developed? What should the scale of the paintings be, or the palette?  My small studies give me a chance to explore composition and color but more importantly they force me to find the essential “woodsiness” in the woods.The six oil on prepared paper studies below explore openings to a path vs. the wall of trees.