Quiet spot near a beaver pond in Gatineau Park. Gone are the summer crowds and there is a brief peaceful respite before the winter activities start. The graphic quality of these striking trees made this simple scene all the more compelling. 

Used a more abstract approach to convey the feel of the scene, avoiding too much distracting detail that would make the image overly busy.

For a closer look, please check out my Fall page.

#gatineaupark, #birches, #acrylicpainting, #landscape, #landscapepainting 

Walking among these magnificent Japanese cedar, a pilgrim makes his way to the Takio shrine one of many Shinto forest shrines in Nikko, Japan. Passing under the Torri (gate), the pilgrim makes his way thru the sacred grove that is believed to shelter and protect this forest shrine. A central tenet of Shinto is reverence for nature, which is something that resonates with my beliefs. 

I love trees, which feature in many of my pieces, and I was struck by the beauty of this scene. 

Special thanks to Naoki Takada, for use of his photo as reference. Naoki is a mountain artist. Check out his beautiful work on Instagram at yamaclay. 

For a closer look, please check out my Featured Pieces page.

#Takio, #Nikko, #Japan, #Shinto, #acrylic, #landscapepainting