Among the Redwoods: Two Paintings Find Their Homes

There are certain subjects I return to again and again, not because I’ve run out of things to paint, but because they never seem to run out of things to say.

For me, the California redwoods are one of those subjects.

This summer, I’ve been spending more time among them—walking, observing, photographing, and paying attention to the extraordinary shifts of light and color that happen beneath the canopy. The deeper I look, the more there is to paint: warm sienna and rust in the bark, unexpected blues and violets in the shadows, flashes of green, and those beautiful moments when sunlight finds its way through the trees.

Two of my recent original redwood paintings, The Stillness That Made Me and Light of the Forest, have now found their homes with collectors, and seeing them leave the studio feels particularly meaningful.

The Stillness That Made Me | 36 × 60

At 36 × 60 inches, The Stillness That Made Me was created as an immersive piece—one that gives the viewer the feeling of stepping into the forest rather than simply looking at it.

The vertical redwood trunks allowed me to play with scale and depth, while layers of palette-knife texture created the roughness and history of the bark. Light moves quietly through the painting, appearing between the trees rather than demanding attention.

The title came from something I feel every time I return to these places.

The redwoods are spectacular, of course, but it isn't their grandeur alone that stays with me. It's their stillness.

There is something about standing beneath trees that have existed for hundreds—sometimes thousands—of years that makes the noise of everyday life seem temporarily less important.

That was the feeling I wanted this painting to hold.

Light of the Forest | 24 × 30

Light of the Forest explored the same landscape at a more intimate scale.

This 24 × 30 inch original palette knife painting was inspired by those fleeting moments when sunlight breaks through the canopy and suddenly illuminates part of the forest floor.

The painting became less about individual trees and more about the relationship between light, texture and atmosphere.

Rich earth tones run through the trunks, while cooler greens and blue-grays recede into the forest. Thick palette-knife marks catch the light across the surface, allowing the painting itself to change subtly as you move around it.

I was delighted when Light of the Forest was recently purchased by a wonderful repeat collector after I shared my latest redwood work with my email subscribers.

There is something especially lovely about knowing a painting has resonated with someone who already lives with my work.

Painting the California Redwoods

My Woodland Collection has become an ongoing exploration rather than a collection with a defined ending.

Every visit to the redwood forests gives me something different.

Sometimes it's a composition.

Sometimes it's a color combination.

Sometimes it's simply the memory of walking along a trail in complete silence and looking upward.

As a palette knife painter, I'm particularly fascinated by the physical surfaces of these landscapes. Redwood bark is layered, irregular, scarred and incredibly colorful when you really look at it. It lends itself naturally to the broken marks and heavy impasto that have become such an important part of my work.

And then there is the light.

California redwood forests can be incredibly dark, which makes the illuminated passages even more powerful. A small opening in the canopy can transform an entire scene.

That contrast is something I suspect I'll be painting for a very long time.

What’s Next From the Woodland Collection

Both The Stillness That Made Me and Light of the Forest are now sold, but I'm continuing to paint the redwoods throughout the summer.

I'm less interested in creating a series of paintings that all look alike than I am in continuing to investigate this landscape—different light, different scale, different seasons, and different ways of translating the feeling of these extraordinary forests through paint.

For collectors who would like to follow along, my email list is always the first place I share new original paintings, works fresh from the easel, and pieces that will soon be released.

For now, I'm simply enjoying being among the trees and seeing where they take the work next.