Fallen

As is usually the case with my paintings, the meaning of “Fallen”(as well as the image itself) has a few different levels to it. 

The name has a literal component – with reference to the branch that had long ago fallen into the water, but there was much more that compelled me to paint this image.   

There is a quiet, contemplative feel to this scene that drew me in.  I love the combination of simplicity and complex detail, quietness and drama.  Most of all, the play of a fallen branch under the water and standing, living branches overhead reflecting off the surface made me want to - even need to – spend time thinking about and communicating the scene and my feeling about it with paint.

While in physical space there is a vast difference between the fallen branch and the standing branches, in the painting there is not much difference.  In the piece, both the fallen and standing have life, motion and beauty to them.  And in this composition, both the fallen and standing exist in the same space, touching in one plane and missing by just a few inches in another. 

This feels close to our own reality.  Experiences of standing tall or having fallen all having beauty and meaning, always touching and just inches apart at the same time.

Enjoy,

Jason