Forest Bathing

Forest Bathing (16x20)

This painting is loosely based on a photo I took while hiking in Algonquin park with my family a few years ago, during the Thanksgiving weekend.   The idea of forest bathing is to soak up the soothing stillness of the forest and to bring it back with you to replenish your own sense of calmness.  I was also inspired by my previous 8x10 painting called Algonquin Forest, to recreate this scene in larger format and with a more vibrant colour palette.

In this painting, I kept the golden yellow tree, but changed the other earthy colours to bolder hues,  eluding to the warmth of the sun.  I wanted to remember the texture of the forest, and drew attention to the tree bark, giving it a tactile feel by building up and scraping my paint.