Light & Shadow, a life long love affair
For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with light and therefore shadow, especially in nature.
When I was a child I used to spend a lot of time in the native bush on my Grandparents farm. My Grandmother would teach me the names of the plants and trees that lived there, and the birds that would cross our paths. That’s where I first fell in love with that dappled light, and the beauty of New Zealand’s unique fauna and flora.
Later, in my last year of college I studied Art history, predominantly 19th Century French Impressionists. Oh how they used paint to show light and shadow, I was hooked.
Fast forward nearly 40 years and I find myself painting all those memories that have been stored somewhere in my brain, the rays of light, the light bubbles, the hints of blue sky, peaking through the forest canopy, the dark shadows where the insects love to hide.
I’m certainly not finished exploring all the possibilities that come with painting, and hope to keep portraying that sense of ‘being’ in nature.
I totally understand this concept Kristin. I love that your childhood memories can come out in your painting so many years later. I have a story on my website about posting leaves and flowers in all the letter boxes in my childhood street when I was very small and before any siblings came along!
Keep going Kristin. xxx
That explains why you paint it so beautifully Kristin! There is nostalgia, and emotion, and love all wrapped up in those beautiful paintings of yours!
I love to hear how memories inspire paintings, and often it seems, they are created when we are very young. I can tell you had a very happy childhood because the joy comes out in your work.