Forests are landscapes with rich mythological histories.  From the

ancient times of animism, in which trees were believed to be gods, to

pantheism, in which trees were believed to house gods and spirits, to

multiple cultures considering woodlands to be sacred spaces, forests

have been portrayed as part of the natural world having spiritual

significance for man.

Such spiritual significance is demonstrated in art history, in which the

landscape has been used as a metaphor for God.  The different

appearances of the art works depend on which interpretation of God is

being referenced.  There is God the benevolent Creator and source of all

life, the God of wrath and fury, the distant God who set the natural laws

in motion and allows them to play out , and more. 

The forest landscape as God in my work is primarily a vibrant

environment in which humans move freely and with ease.  This is

where  man’s spiritual essence, unencumbered by physicality, lives and

moves and has its being.  Though the visualization of such woodland

spiritual activity may seem eery at first, the realization of man’s place in

nature takes hold, as one embarks on A Walk in the Woods.