Wolf Hill Forest Preserve Painting
23″ x 41, Oil on Canvas, 2022
by Charles C. Clear III
This custom designed oil painting features the Wolf Hill Forest Preserve in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The Park has miles of rocky trails that take you deep into the woods, eventually leading to a view of the Providence skyline. It’s a popular spot for hikers, dog walkers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Wolf Hill is also the site of a tragic accident. In August of 1943 a US Army Air Corps plane had engine trouble and crashed at the top of a hill, killing three young servicemen. There’s a memorial to them on the spot where their plane came to rest against a large boulder.
This painting was commissioned by a man who lives next to the Park. Upon receiving the commission I walked the trails and took pictures along the way. As I walked deeper and deeper into the woods I realized that there wasn’t one particular spot with a quintessential view. How would I capture the essence of the Preserve? This was going to be a challenge.
I decided the best approach was to assemble every piece of this design from scratch based on the photo’s that I took when I visited. Every rock, every tree, and every leave in this painting can be found at Wolf Hill, but not together – this painting would be my interpretation of the Park.
In this original painting the sunlit trail runs uphill through the center of the scene and is framed on each side by the teal colored rocks. Running along the path at center right is a stone wall, and just beyond that is the leaf covered landscape. In the distance is a soft, almost faint canopy of leaves with the gentle silhouette of rocks and trees. It’s a magical scene that makes you feel like you are on the trail.
The design is carefully composed to lead the viewer’s eye into the painting. Not being able to see where the path goes once it turns the corner is sort of a metaphor for life; we don’t know what’s ahead, but we trust and walk in faith, and we feel safe in the filtered light of this rocky path.
The painting was well received by the man who commissioned it, and the painting now hangs in their living room.
Fine Art Prints and Poster Art Reproductions of this original painting are available in a variety of sizes.
Charles C. Clear III
cc@oceanstateart.com