Landscape
The trees in this woodland are possibly up to eight hundred years old. Surprising to find the woodland on a suburban street but made possible with management. I was inspired by the wall of infinite shades of green formed at the start of summer, and which last until mid-autumn.
I took some inspiration from some life size photos I saw recently of Damien Hirst’s Cherry Blossom paintings and used impasto (heavily built-up layers of thick paint) to help recreate the tree’s bushiness.
The trees overlook a brook, this brook joins another to become the River Sherbourne and eventually runs through Coventry city centre and beyond that flows into the rivers Sowe, Avon then Severn. This proximity to natural waterways was one of the main reasons for Coventry’s prosperity, particularly when the region’s woollen industry took off in the Middle Ages.
As well as this connection to our past, I wanted to draw attention to the fragility and increasing rarity of our woodlands. The need to take care so future generations can enjoy its benefits. Once it disappears it would take hundreds of years to grow again.