The full name of this painting of Dogwood is ‘Dogwood/woodGod’. It is another attempt to picture the divinity hidden in ordinary plants. Talking of the presence of gods in ordinary things is often negatively described as primitive animism. But the wholesale destruction of the natural world that we are now experiencing is happening because so many people are unable to connect to something greater than the human ego.4
While this is primarily a painting about light, it is also about life, death, and the divinity that hides in the natural world – even when nature is compromised.
Dogwood – five months of work
The painting took – on and off – five months to complete. I used gesso board because of its fine surface, but translucent acrylics slip about on gesso, and every part required multiple applications of paint. I also burnished leaves with pencil.
The water is the ‘River’ Blackwater. Most of the flow comes from *seven* sewage discharge treatment works. As you might imagine, the quality of the water is poor.
The other plants in Dogwood
It’s late autumn, and on the far bank, you can see the orange stems of Himalayan Balsam (the plants die completely as the weather gets colder). On the left are the dried inflorescences of Canadian horse weed, which is the first plant to develop glyphosate resistance. In the foreground are the branches and sinuous stems of Dogwood, once used to make nails (or dags) hence the name.
Strangely, I often found my thoughts turning to Ötzi, the 5,000 year old mummy found in the Ötztal Alps, who carried dogwood arrows in his quiver.
You might be interested in this painting of waterlilies or this understated view of a park in winter.