Art & Design Magazine

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest

By Artbycedar

Here is “Sun Through Fog.”

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW ForestSun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

This is one of the most exciting paintings I have ever created!

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Artist in studio. Painting: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

I often tell people, when speaking about my “Looking Up” collection, that many of these paintings are just as much about exploring the visual possibilities of light and color as they are about the subject of the forest.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

I am using trees as my subject, because trees offer endless beauty and visual interest, in their infinite configurations and unique shapes.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

But the real theme here is the way the light interacts with the subject, and the challenge of painting all the nuances of light and shadow.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee
Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

I created this painting in a very strategic way, working background to foreground, figuring out how to layer many glazes of paint to achieve this effect of the light reaching out into space, between the forms of the many trees.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

The trees in the far background appear as gray shapes against the sky, their details soft, pops of blue sky showing through them.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

In the foreground, the sunlight washes down onto the forest floor, the details of the trees becoming soft hints of shapes within the flood of light.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

And the trees closest to us, not within the sunlight but in front of it, appear as sharp black silhouettes.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

In the details of these silhouettes are lichen and ferns and small sharp twigs.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Detail: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

It’s an overwhelmingly powerful image, especially in person because of its large scale!

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

Seeing it on a wall is like looking into a gigantic window into another world.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

Contact me if you’re interested in purchasing the original or an art print of this image.

Sunlight Through Fog in PNW Forest
Artist with painting: Sun Through Fog. 36″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas, © 2022 Cedar Lee

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