Sylvan #3

Another 8x10 acrylic from the forest series. This view drew me for two reasons: the near absence of green and the strong shadows. It was well-balanced, with fallen trunk and shadows at right angles. The flesh-colored leaves lent themselves to a variety of hues in strong sunlight.

A white sapling grew up between branches of the fallen giant. Behind me, some rusted and sagging barbed wire kept out a pair of curious black labs who tagged along (the slats at lower right are a collapsed fence section). But they found adventure in a ditch filled shoulder-deep with cold water. One of them dove in, paused to drink, then went slogging ahead to explore how far the ditch ran.