2023
After working on a few charcoal images of this brightly lit tree down in the creek bed at the very end of the light of day I decided to try my hand at painting it. I kept the surface fuzzy, scratching and scrubbing the paint, then editing with conte and charcoal, and back again with paint. It is very thinly painted with the worn down nubs of brushes that I happen to love, too worn for anything but this sort of application. Detail is impossible with them, which is what I was after at this time of day and with the effect of very dim light. I let a bit of the drawing stay, which is something that I have begun to feel very strongly about. I've always felt strongest at drawing, and being able to combine drawing with painting feels like a bit of a sea change for me, in a very necessary way. There is a small hint of George Inness here that I don't mind having, as his work has always been very high in my likings.