subliminal influence

Over the last couple of days I have been pondering the words of Henri Matisse
from a long hidden, recently discovered interview with him

http://designobserver.com/feature/henri-matisse-the-lost-interview/38738?fb_action_ids=1541907199394598&fb_action_types=og.likes

The quote that struck me most was ‘ The subject is myself and what I see. ‘

Unusually for me, when I was painting, I was thinking of this idea and I had just taken these photos of our alder trees that we planted 5 years ago in a wet area among the reeds

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So what was I painting and how did the thought and image of tbe trees impact the work?

Here are some images of the canvases at different stages over the last couple of days, as well as some closeup details

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