Description
Sensual Nature – one crown over eight trunks
Painting on canvas covers its upper third with a single unbroken crown of dark burgundy laid on in thick blocks, and stands eight thin dark trunks beneath it, four to a side, with a wide gap down the middle: modern painting whose canopy belongs to no particular tree.
Technique and texture
Nothing in the crown merges: it is assembled from flat blocks with cut edges, which is what leaves its underside serrated rather than soft. Each trunk was pulled downward in one stroke with a narrow tip, and the bark is cracked along its length. The bottom third is vertical running traces, enough to suggest water without describing it.
The motif
The trunks are neither equal in thickness nor evenly spaced, and the gap at the centre is the widest of them, which opens the whole composition. Because the crown is one mass and not a set of separate trees, there is no telling which trunk holds which part of it. A few bright dots hang along the underside of the red and are the only light in all of it.
Setting and placement
Burgundy this deep needs a bright wall and generous light, or it closes up. Light furniture is the right company; against dark wood the burgundy simply closes and the eight trunks disappear into it.
- Technique: hand-painted painting on canvas, knifed crown blocks, single-stroke trunks, vertical running traces
- Palette: dark burgundy, cream blue, gold amber, dark brown, white
- Ideal for: dining rooms, foyers, living rooms
- Character: dramatic, decisive, dark
Choose the size that suits your wall.
