Magical Forests Hold a Power

Magical Forests Hold a Power with 3 Basic Qualities: dreamlike beauty, recalled memories, and deep feelings in all the senses. Autumn Gold holds many of these traits. I looked at a photo from a recent drive and walk down a woodland road near my home. Something about the trees, appearing so black, yet the leaves were shimmering gold. The land had a pale sun shining on it that seemed other worldly. The shapes and colors went back forever, and drew me into it’s magic.

When I paint, I interpret a photo, place, or memory. The details, colors, and even positioning of things, are the one’s I choose while in the course of creating. Also, I may think one thing, and then the art takes on a life of it’s own. It never turns out the way I planned, but often better than I could have imagined. This is the surprise of creation. The doing of art triggers the soul, the body memory, to take over. The colors become richer, the layers more pronounced. That happened with Autumn Gold.

First of all, a magical forest holds a dreamlike beauty. The land is almost surreal. I started with a blue color that I love, and made the horizontal band. I’m not even sure what it is. Water or land, it seems all the rest of the grass and trees flowed over and above this section. These woods take me back to fairy tales I’ve heard. There may be gnarled trees, moss covered rocks, trunks filled with lichen and holes for creatures to hide. The plants are lush, with rich colors that fade off into the distance.

A river or sea often pulls you into a painting, leading your eye down a secret path. There may be ruins of some ancient past, stone walls once used as boundaries, or wonderful treasures left in caves. A circle of boulders can be the entry to sacred ground. Rock art may be carved into the walls, an old hearth may hold burnt wood, while beads, tools, and arrowheads may be gathered in the center. All these possibilities exist in a magical forest.

Secondly, a painting of a magical forest triggers memories of something you know from the past. It may be a place you visited as a child. Plus, powerful places leave a deep memory on our psyches.

I remember the huge Sequoias from a cross country family trip. Unbelievably humbling to a little kid. The Black Forest of Germany, my first European trip as an adult, were full of magic. Small winding trails near an icy cold river, would reveal a little cottage where cuckoo clocks were made. Another trip showed white aspens out West, with golden leaves leading across a field to a hidden trail in the mountains. All surprising and mysterious forests of magic.

When I walk through the woods, I expect other worldly creatures to appear. It seems so obvious that legends have been born here of magic and shapeshifting when tree stumps resemble a trio of rabbits walking upright with packs on their back, upended tree roots look like horned black creatures from the underworld, and bears appear to gather in the clusters of leaves. One long fallen branch, the size of a small tree, becomes a Dragon Guardian, protecting the stone wall of a house.

Magical Forests Hold a Power with deeply sensual feelings.

Thirdly, the art of magic forests should trigger feelings, body memories of touching rough bark, smelling the woody scents of Walnut Trees, and hearing the crunch of leaves beneath your feet. A field beyond the woods my recall the scent of sweetgrass lingering in the air, the brush of branches against your body, and the sun casting patterns along the forest floor. A feeling of soft breezes and sun on your face may envelop you in its reality.

Each of my paintings has a story, my story, of what it means to me. But a magical piece of art should also trigger something deeper within you. You may not have words to describe it, but it draws you into another world. That’s the Power of Art. In addition, a painting, the art of a forest, allows you to bring the magic home.

Enchanting magic fills the Autumn explorer’s Universe. As the days get shorter, the weather cooler, and the shadows longer, seek out the magic in the spaces in between. Look beyond the obvious and ignite your imagination of a place with fresh eyes. See the forest as it silently sheds it greenery and becomes a rich flowing fantasy of change, feelings, and mystery.

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