Murray River - dark side of the tree (24)

My friend, Steve, photographed this scene when he was canoeing on the Murray River near Pemberton. He took a photo from both sides of the tree - this is the dark side. This was only my second oil painting and I made the faux pas of painting it onto canvas without leaving enough room to stretch it. My friend, Maree, who is also an artist, gave me the idea of sewing it onto a piece of plain canvas which could then be stretched over the frame. The finished effect was very striking.

I love the way the light shining through the trees and lighting up the fallen log and the water gives the scene an ‘otherworldly’ feel to it. And I was thrilled to be able to capture some of that feeling in my painting, especially given my lack of experience with oils.

This painting featured in my first solo exhibition in 2008 at a café on Wray Avenue in Fremantle, and was bought by the son of the café owner. I later showed a print of the painting to another friend and she asked me do a pastel painting of the same scene for her. I’ll post the pastel version in the next blog - they look remarkably similar even though they are painted in different mediums.