This is part of a nature series I created after hiking through Yellowstone National Park. The colors, textures, and nature were just so inspiring. I wanted to create work that could not only be seen but also touched. These paintings are created with a palette knife.
Why so many of my paintings feature aspen trees: Aspens trees grow as a community; they are interconnected by their roots and share nutrients and resources to support each other. You will never find one lone aspen because they are all connected by one root system. Their bond is so strong that they are nearly impossible to destroy. Even if a wildfire were to destroy a forest, completely burning the Aspen trees to the ground, the following year new aspen shoots would begin to grow again from the common root system buried deep beneath the earth. I love the idea of the interconnected resources to support and each other for growth.
My paintings are heavily textured just using acrylic paint. They have a gloss varnish mixed that will give it a shine and make the paint still look wet.
