Under the Over

I was drawn to paint this railway bridge near my home by the contrast between its hard, rectilinear forms and the soft, organic forms of the foliage it nestles within, and which are in the slow, inexorable process of reclaiming its structure for nature. Coupled with the overcast light of the day, that that feeling of entropy and decay alongside rebirth and growth gave the image a sense of longing to me. It spoke to the futility of grasping for permanence, and to the importance of embracing the true nature of the world, as a thing which flows through cycles of death and regeneration.

I worked on this piece for about three hours on location and then about the same amount of time in the studio.