Ruins and Ancestral Forests

Ruïnes i boscos ancestrals (Ruins and ancestral forests)

acrylic on canvas, 50 cm x 75 cm, 2012

Though this part of Spain has few old growth forests, the hillsides are lush with growth and mature stands of "encina" oaks, not to be confused with encino live oaks of California.  Old people remember when there was almost no dead wood on the forest floor because, especially during the Spanish Civil War and likely before, every scrap of wood was burned for cooking.  Recent forest fires in this region have been rampant and dangerous. The other reflection embedded in this work is the sense that any tangle of woods here could easily conceal stonework from the Romans, the Visigoths, etc.

First layer; lacks contrast, warm tones, a more integrated composition.