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“A Fire in the Forest” by Matt Brown — (catalogue no. HP0001)

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Pricing & Formats:

10.7 ft by 4.9 ft canvas print: hand-finished with clear acrylic paint, for added texture and protection - For more details, and information on pricing, please refer to the 10ft Pictures page.

This piece is also available in a number of different formats and sizes. For more details, and information on pricing, please refer to the Pricing & Format page.

NOTE: The width/height ratio of some available sizes may vary slightly to the original image (see above). So some minimal cropping may occur. For more details, please refer to the Pricing & Format page.

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About:

A Fire in the Forest is a picture about the destructive forces of nature. It echoes a Vietnamese folk tale called “The Ancient Tree”, a story about a little white bird.

“… Suddenly the bird felt anxious. The ancient forest, far away, was burning. Faster and faster still, the bird flew. The flames licked the sky. The fire spread near the great tree. The bird fanned the fire with its wings, hoping to put it out, but the flames burned more fiercely.

So the bird sped to the spring, dipped its wings in the water, and rushed back to shake the water over the forest. The drops sizzled. It was not enough, not enough. The bird’s entire body soaked in water was not enough to extinguish the fire. …”

The ancient tree represents all that the bird holds most dear. It is its home, its community, a source of food, its livelihood - perhaps in its branches await the bird’s hatchlings. So, naturally, it will do anything it can to save it. But, as it is just a bird, how can it hope to fully understand the nature of fire?

Nature, life, even society, can be mighty, and it can be complex. The wider world infringes upon our best plans, exerts pressure from all corners and sometimes upon those things we hold most dear. It can often seem as overwhelming as a forest fire. And even if most of our troubles are more abstract or prosaic than that of the bird’s, they massage the very same fight of flight reflexes.

Protecting the ancient tree, for me, is being able to continue creating art, and creating the best artwork I can. Staying true to my principles, not giving up, not selling out. This is never easy in any climate.

The bold lines in the picture are a defiant gesture to the impish faces in the fire. For our hero - the crisp, white bird in mid flight - it is the moment of reckoning. Is it sleeking into the night? Or is it heading for the spring in order to meet it’s foes head on?

“… In that moment, the bird felt the fullness of its existence. Loneliness and emptiness vanished, and the image of the monk, the image of the sun behind the mountain peak, and the image of the rushing water falling endlessly through a thousand lifetimes took their place. The cry of the bird had become the rush of water, and without fear, the bird plunged into the forest fire like a majestic waterfall. …”

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