Patience and painting

I don't usually put this much effort in to a painting, but for some reason this particular one is a never ending process. Each time I go for a walk in the woods I notice something more, this year the forest has undergone some major transformation in its landscape. It is chaotic, disorderly. No one has tempered with it, broken trees and branches are all over its leave carpet, the wind has done a lot of damage to the weak and fragile trees.

Consequently I am learning about patience through my brushes, I am learning focus in order to achieve a texture or a specific result. The act of painting lets me be in the moment, the focus lets me forget about the mundane stuff and the whole teaches me patience.

An ongoing project, I can't count the time I have spent over this canvas subtracting or adding shapes and colors. Will it be what I hope it can be once it is finish? I don't know if I can bring out its full potential but I won't stop trying.

I have other pieces on the go, but none inspire me like this one. I am drawn to the forest, I get lost in it. The abundance brought forth by nature, the continual renewal of life every spring is a strong motivator. Even with the destruction left by the force of winds gives it charm and creates a new tableau. Every time something is moved or broken it opens a door for a new beginning, moss, mushrooms, and insects will take over and create a new image with the broken or dead. Patience, for everything transforms, everything changes, we just have to wait for it.

On an other note, while going trough a book on Impressionists I fell into a Renoir painting called "Trees in the forest of Fontainebleau" that was done in 1860. The simplicity of it gives it power, yet the light is divine. Renoir was able to give it life, or should I say a soul, this is what I would like to achieve in my paintings.