Halfmoon Bay through the Trees
On my days off you'll find me wandering around in the woods. I'm not sure if this happens to you, but when I'm in the forest, I often get the feeling that I'm inside a lovely room that's full of trees!
I was out in the woods one day, exploring our local trails in Ucluelet and had such a nice experience that inspired my most recent paintings of Halfmoon Bay, Ucluelet.
I was walking down to Halfmoon Bay, it was shady and damp and everything was mossy, covered in tiny sparkling water droplets.
It's always so quiet and peaceful in the woods, the trees seem to absorb all the noises and soften them for my ears.
The ground was springy and felt hollow beneath me, my shoes made a sort of dull, thudding sound when I took each step, it was lovely.
Cozy, warm sunlight filtered through the trees onto the forest floor in speckled shapes, highlighting the salal leaves and ferns around my feet. I took a step forward into the sunshine.
Eyes closed, I just stood for a second, enjoying the warm sun on my face. The warmth and lightness contrasting the cool sea air that was on the other side of the trees. I felt as though I were stood in my very own woodland room.
While gathering inspiration for my latest paintings and trying to explain this feeling i had experienced to my boyfriend, I did some searching around on the internet and found some new words to try out.
Maybe you have your own word for this exact thing? I'd love to hear it!
"The moon with its scalloped curve and paper oceans : we've never been there . The sky is a gap in the river where the treelight clears , and the moon is an old memento , a glass dome where it snows..."
Cynthia Zarin, The Moon and The River Bank from "The Swordfish Tooth : Poems"
Komorebi - A Japanese expression that describes the sunlight as it filters through the trees
Shive light - Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins used this term in his poems
(1844 - 1889)
"Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, | wherever an elm arches,
Shivelights and shadowtackle ín long | lashes lace, lance, and pair."
Crepuscular Rays - I'm not sure if this word fully describes what I'm going for, it seems to be the name for when light shines through clouds or over a mountain making a straight line of sun light.
When people ask what inspired my most recent gouache paintings I think I'll say I'm inspired by Tree Light.
Both paintings: