Gothic Forest 1980

Eyvind Earle made this forest scene using very smooth paint and lots of tiny strokes to build up the forms of the trees. I love how Earle simplifies the forest into a series of upright shapes, some with leaves and some without. It’s an intriguing mix of precision and playfulness. I can imagine him out in nature, noticing how light filters through leaves and branches, then back in the studio, trying to capture that fleeting feeling on canvas. Look at the way the colours shift on that massive tree trunk at the front, almost vibrating, so juicy and alive! The effect is less like a direct representation of nature and more like an emotional echo of it. Earle was prolific and he explored similar themes throughout his career. There’s a real conversation happening between him and other artists about the best way to capture nature, memory, and feeling. It’s this constant back-and-forth that makes painting so exciting for me.