Witnesses

The Witnesses came into being through their name. It was the word first, that sat in my brain and called colors and light to itself. I wanted to paint this group of people facing the viewer in silence. They are a part of the Forest and somewhat apart from it through the act of watching you. The word Witnesses can have unsettling connotations, vaguely recalling the courtroom dramas or crimes or writing of the will, or records of history. Because we are in the forest, whatever they are witnessing is secret. They are indistinct and yet, through variation of poses, weight shifts and heights, they are alive. They could disappear at any moment, becoming one with the shadows. The colors of this painting are so subtle that I, to this date, have not been able to take a good photograph of it. As it hangs in my studio, when the light is right, it glows. As I stare at it I almost hear the deep note it is making. But if someone asked me what this painting is about I would say – it is about Silence.