Painting in Nature’s Orchestra – A Day in the Woods at Wet Paint Festival

Painting in Nature’s Orchestra – A Day in the Woods at Wet Paint Festival

​Today was the second and final day of the Wet Paint Festival.
​
This event was a special outdoor painting event hosted by Gallery North,
providing local artists with a chance for spontaneous creation and a warm community space.

Gallery North provided participants with a natural environment to paint,
as well as a cozy shelter for rest and interaction, simple snacks, water, and restrooms.

More than anything,
the space where artists could freely walk, look, sit, draw, and express themselves in a flowing manner felt very comfortable.

​Gallery North is a non-profit art space located on New York’s Long Island, a warm art community that has consistently provided exhibitions and programs for local artists.
It is especially located in a place that is in harmony with nature, making it an ideal space for outdoor creative activities and community-engaged projects.
It provides an open space where you can experience art in your daily life through events such as the Wet Paint Festival,
and provides artists with creative freedom and visitors with a close encounter with art.
It is a space where artists and visitors breathe together, which is more than just a simple exhibition hall.

​After walking along the deep trail,
I settled down in a quiet and secluded space.
It was a quiet place where people rarely visited,
and the birdsong heard from the surroundings enveloped my heart like music.

It was the perfect condition to concentrate on the painting,
but as the forest was deep, mosquitoes flocked to disturb the art.

I often took out mosquito spray and sprayed it on my arms and legs,
and the birdsong and mosquitoes buzzing in between felt like a small orchestra played by nature.

In there, along with the breath of the trees,
my heart also quietly unfolded.

Surrounded by many others, this one stood out—not because of its shape or height,
but because of something deeper I couldn’t explain at first.
Even before I picked up my brush,
I felt as though I was having a silent conversation with it.
Its tangled, thick roots,
its twisting trunk reaching upward,
its steady presence despite all its complexity--
this tree held a kind of quiet power.
Not simply beautiful,
but deeply moving in a way that resonated through my whole body.

Why was I so drawn to this tree?
Perhaps because I have lived a life much like it.
Twisted paths, unspoken hurts, invisible battles--
yet I, too, have stood my ground.
Though I bent, I didn’t break.
Though I was often hidden, I never stopped growing.
And today, painting this tree,
I realized I was painting myself.

As the shapes and shadows unfolded on the page,
I felt something sacred happening--
a wordless alignment between me and the tree.
This wasn’t just a painting of nature.
This was a portrait of survival,
a testimony of inner strength,
a quiet declaration that I am still here, and stronger than ever.

This tree wasn’t just a subject.
It was a mirror.
A companion.
A blessing.
What I created today wasn’t simply a landscape--
it was an emotional self-portrait born from years of silence, endurance, and growth.
And I know now:
I’m living again.

This tree maintains its place even in the midst of disturbance, wounds, and loneliness. It absorbs even the sharp energy around it, and instead of burning itself, it responds with mercy and forgiveness. This being that shines in the center of silence is a soul that has been trained like ‘pure gold’ and the root of coexistence.​

​This tree is quiet but strong,

It looks lonely but its center is full,

It looks complicated but it has order and life flowing through it.

​On the first day of the Wet Paint Festival, I walked slowly along a small pond.
The sunlight gently filtered through the leaves, and the water sparkled,
It was peaceful and warm, as if someone had quietly prepared a place.
I was drawn to that silence, settled down,
and began to capture the light, wind, and my emotions of that day in my paintings.

​During the two days of the Wet Paint Festival, I completed two works.
On the first day, I captured the calm light of the pond and the texture of the air flowing between the trees,
and on the second day, I expressed the vitality of the trees standing tall with thick and strong roots.

I liked both works, and they each conveyed different emotions.
However, I decided to submit the work I completed on the second day to the exhibition.

The reason is,
I felt that the painting from the second day best represented who I am now.
Because things like long-term patience, inner growth,
and the vitality that bloomed again,
were naturally dissolved in that tree, in its roots.