I like this bolder more graphic approach it has an energy that reminds me of early Hockney landscapes around the Hollywood hills. I think I have been trying to wrestle myself free of the more illustrative landscapes of 2024 and this is probably the first one that I think has done that successfully. I still like to retain the character of the place, to the point that it is still recognisable but to paint the rhythms and light of the landscape but in a more powerful and simplified way. This painting does rely on the these big shapes being present and I will seek out more of the same, maybe a few more forest paintings coming, there is no end to them around here.
Edge of the forest, Northumberland