I’ve finished another 48″ x 48″!
Here is “Sun & Shadows.”
Cedar Lee, artist in the studio with oil painting Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
It’s a sunny summer day in the redwood forest. There is a sharp contrast between light and dark throughout the image.
Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
Brilliant white sunlight floods the whole sky, completely washing out the highest parts of the large sequoia tree in the center.
Artwork in painting studio: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
The sunlight illuminates some of the distant tree tops in yellow.
Detail: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
In the foreground, but still high above our heads, as we are craning our necks to look straight up into the sky, floats a cluster of rich green leaves.
Detail: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
Some of the leaves are in shadow, a green so dark it’s almost black, while others are brighter, lighter shades of green, catching sunlight from above.
Detail: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
The giant tree trunk is blue and purple in shadow, back-lit by the sun. In front of it, leaves sit in a bright patch of sun, shining white and yellow.
Detail: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
The far-away tree tops high in the sky are represented by thousands of tiny shapes, dots of light and color strewn together. It gives a sense of movement, and the twinkling of light as it filters through the many tiny shapes.
Detail: Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
The forest on this day is dazzling! There is a sense of cool shade from this vantage point.
Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
The heat of the sun is all outside, above the forest, being captured up there in the sky by the living green network of ancient trees.
Sun & Shadows. 48″ x 48″, Oil on Wood, © 2017 Cedar Lee
Here is a quick glimpse of the painting progress, taken in the studio earlier this month: