I created this oil painting of a fallen tree on an overcast day. It was a soft and quiet morning at the beginning of the week, and I was enjoying the slightly misty atmosphere in the forest. This was at the end of February and the colors of the forest were still quite muted and consisting of earth tones; no leaves had appeared on the branches of the trees yet.
Instead of painting a landscape, I felt more like painting a still life, so to speak. While thinking about this, I walked into this fallen tree. To me, they are acting like living sculptures. While the tree is at the end of its life, lots of other plants, like mosses and ferns find their new homes on the old roots. At the roots of this particular tree there was a large puddle of water, which I guess turned it into a tiny oasis for these plants, and some interesting reflections to play with for me.
