Heartwood - Original A3 Folklore and Fantasy Watercolour Artwork - Sold Unframed

Heartwood is an atmospheric portrait of a forest spirit emerging from a felled English oak. In a dark woodland, her golden heart burns within the stump, becoming the painting's only source of light. Its glow catches her face, hair and surrounding plants, while layered indigo, green and brown create chromatic blacks full of shifting colour. Oak leaves and acorns grow through her dark hair, English ivy climbs the stump and delicate wood sorrel gathers below. A single tear begins to trace its way down her otherwise serene face. INSPIRATION AND FOLKLORE Heartwood draws on the long folkloric tradition of imagining forests as inhabited places, from the dryads and tree-bound hamadryads of Greek mythology to traditions of sacred and inhabited trees. She belongs to my own imagined folklore, rooted particularly in my fascination with British woodland. Botanical detail and British woodland ecology run throughout the painting. The plants are real woodland species: English oak, English ivy and wood sorrel. Heartwood is also a botanical term for the older inner wood at the centre of a tree trunk. Here it becomes literal: a golden heart exposed within the felled oak, still glowing fiercely enough to illuminate the darkness. AT A GLANCE Original, one-of-a-kind A3 artwork 42 by 29.7 cm Watercolour, coloured pencil and Posca pen 300gsm Daler-Rowney Aquafine cold-pressed, acid-free watercolour paper Signed and dated on the reverse Sold unframed Free tracked UK delivery FRAMING AND CARE Standard A3 size. Any frame pictured is not included. Excellent condition. The reverse may show occasional pigment marks from the making process. The surface will be sealed with Dorland's Wax Medium before dispatch. Keep dry and away from prolonged direct sunlight. Search Ember Cant Art on YouTube for artwork deep dives about the ideas, symbolism and process behind my work. Designed and painted by Ember Cant in Retford, Nottinghamshire, UK.