Inspired by the depictions of stained glass in the Early Nottingham Craft Gallery at Nottingham Castle, as well as the Blasted Tree painting, I wanted to refer to the idea of light being a representation of the divine. There is the idea of the divine within nature as well as a visual connection between light filtered through stained glass and light filtered through trees. I wanted to try depicting the softness of filtered light. The leaves have already dropped from most trees, however I was kindly given an oak sapling which still had some attached, so I shone a light through it and made some experiments.
Chalk on paper. I found it difficult to get the nuances of the shadow with the chalk
Pastel on paper. I liked this medium because I could get a lot of tonal variation. I felt that the result went some way toward depicting what I wanted to, and that a viewer might understand it.
I also tried painting cyanotype fluid onto paper and then placing it under the shadows of foliage. It did result in a soft light, especially where foliage had moved a little in the wind. I had intended to create a large scale version on fabric and place it at the base of a tree, however I found that the results were very unpredictable- some did not show anything at all, and most looked more like water than dappled sunlight. At this time of year I am lacking the intensity of sunlight and leaves needed to obtain a good result. I think it would be something worth revisiting, but perhaps not until the height of summer.
