Oil on canvas, 12″ x 16″

Spiderweb

With this painting I wanted to capture the aliveness, the abundance,

the luscious density of life in late Spring deep in the forest.

And at this time of year, as the branches fill out with their new leafy greenery, it seems I catch a spiderweb with every few steps as I wander the woods here.

Fascinating little beings, spiders and their webs.

In the mythology of cultures the world over, spiders are seen to weave the fabric of the universe, being personifications of the Great Mother goddess in both her creative and devouring aspects.

The Celts believe the web is the structure that holds all life together in its grand design.

Touch it anywhere and the vibration reverberates throughout the whole.

The shrubbery that we see here in the understory is mostly the Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus Cornuta), a many-stemmed shrub, growing 3- 12 feet tall, and producing an abundance of hazelnuts that the squirrels harvest and stash every year before I can ever have a chance to gather any!