Forest Primeval,
Clayoquot River Valley
mural - 72in x 180in
watercolour
This painting was inspired by a painting trip to the temperate rain forest of the pacific-rim,
Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This four-piece mural is based in the heart of the Clayoquot River Valley, one of
the last and largest temperate rain forests left on the planet.
Forest Primeval is a study of an ancient grove of western red cedar ("the tree of life"),
surrounded by moss-covered western hemlock in various stages of life's cycle. These shade tolerant trees
form a continual regenerating climax forest, thousands of years old.
Water from clouds and ocean mist is captured on this thin, steep, strip of land, backed by the mountains.
This water flows and collects in falls and pools around the giant moss-covered boulders and roots to an edge
where the land drops hundreds of feet to a view of the whole valley below.
Sunlight penetrating the forest is a reoccurring symbol in many recent paintings. The union of light
with forms of nature is a way of trying to celebrate the eternal relationships in this miracle of life, in this case the temperate
rainforest.