Light in the Forest

This painting is inspired from a bushwhack hike through a temperate rainforest in Southeast Alaska.  The fog was thick in the morning, we could barely make out the coastline of trees as we took a skiff from the ship to a nearby tucked away cove.  We landed on a mussel and seaweed covered beach and then headed into the dense forest, thick we trees and undergrowth.  There were no trails except for the occasional animal trail.  We scrambled over deadfall, trudged through creeks of moss and boot-sucking mud, and hiked through the rising Spruce and Hemlock trees.  It was so beautiful.  About an hour into the hike, the sun broke through the fog and illuminated the tiny water droplets floating and swaying in the air.  I remember looking up into the silhouette of trees with the light of the sun shining down, and thinking how incredible nature is, how all the elements together create the magic of the present moment.  There were many incredible moments that stood out to me from my time in Alaska, but this one touched my soul and I will never forget it.