"This was made as a very direct study in oils and I chose a wooden panel which I sized but didn’t prime so that the grain of the wood could shine through. All Noh stages have a wooden backboard painted with a single ancient pine tree, and I wanted to give the warm, resonant feel of the acting space in this study. A lot of my oil painting work is about a balance between looseness and finish, between brushwork and smooth surface, and this painting is one of the best examples of this." Binnie, May 27 2022
