Artist's Statement

The deeply spiritual and mysterious essence of nature first struck me when I began to paint in the forest. After visiting many churches and exploring many spiritual paths, I became frustrated with my inability to find the God I was looking for. I realize now, that when I sit in the forest with my paints and brushes, that elusive life force I was searching for is around me. In the trees, the rocks, the river and the sky, I had finally found my church.

I try to express the primal nature of the earth. The relentless reach upwards of branches straining towards the sky, the quiet dignity of a dead tree, mirrors my own search for heaven on earth. The silence of a stone expresses that deep, still space within myself. A running river whispers and laughs and I see the joy of life. Above all, there is a mystery present in the deep forest that I can't put my finger on. It's this unknown voice that inspires me to sit with it and paint, in hopes that the more I watch and listen, the more I will understand.

Cheryl Long