Here is “King’s Canyon Sun.”
King’s Canyon Sun. 30″ x 40″, Oil on Canvas, © 2020 Cedar Lee
My photos of redwood trees from my trip to King’s Canyon National Park several years ago inspired the shapes of the trees in this oil painting.
The angles of the trees as they converge give us the three-dimensional sensation of being under the wide round dome of a big blue sky.
On that trip, my family and I camped under the trees and stars every night and hiked through the old growth redwood forests every day. My memories of those explorations are filled with the sunlight shifting through the trees and beaming down from the treetops hundreds of feet above.
Much of the time I’ve spent in California is forever linked in my memories with the quality of the sunlight. The sun there can be harsh and unrelenting. But at the same time, it casts everything in its beautiful light, and makes everything feel just a bit more energized.
The sunlight filling the sky in this painting is a brilliant white that bursts towards us powerfully! I painted the trees in all the colors of the rainbow.
The white negative shapes created by the light shining through the trees create interesting abstract patterns.
The overall effect is glorious, like a celebration that lifts our spirits.
