Acrylic on Canvas
110cm x 110cm
I have been driving past this beautiful forest for many years now. Each time the light is different. The real trees are actually eucalyptus trees but I decided to make them deciduous in order to see the glorious entanglement of the branches during the Autumn months. One day I saw a little black Shetland pony in the forest, standing there alone, dwarfed by the trees. Shadows flickered everywhere and in the distance I could see the bright green hills of a farm. I felt sorry for the little pony all alone so I gave her a friend, another black Shetland pony peeping through the trees. This gave the scene a serene calm feeling, the story unfolded, two little ponies together. More questions than answers. I aimed to create an unusual forest floor rather than replicating the dirt and scrubby dull grasses that were there. This effect creates movement and intrigue, light now jumps around, and the forest floor seems to ebb and flow in the breeze. I made sure that there was a view through the tree trunks and upper branches. They are entangled and every tree branch has the correct perspective in relation to the other branches, some closer, some behind, and some reaching for the sky. This level of detail pleases me, and has become part of my signature style.
Entangled - Linda Gallus
I live on the Bellarine Peninsula and work full time on my arts practice. I find endless sources of inspiration from a broad variety of landscape types. From rolling green hills to remnant vegetation, olive groves and vineyards, and magnificent sea scapes. I am not a traditional artist as such. I use elements of what I see to construct a visual story, often adding birds, animals and people to give the subject life and vitality. There are elements of the surreal that I use to create mystery and intrigue. I like deep perspectives, rows and repetition, contrasting with more organic features. Colours are often exaggerated and not life like. Story telling is an important element for me. I often combine two or three scenes in the one painting in order to make it unique and unrecognisable. I then add in the ‘real life’ elements focusing on how they relate to each other and the static features. In this way a story unfolds, usually gentle and calm which then invites the viewer to take a closer look, and to involve themselves in the story behind the artwork. For me, this is communication at the highest level.