"Moon Spirit Dancer" by Bruno Surdo

Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo creates dynamic compositions of people and places that communicate a rich commentary on the world around him. Depicting trees from personal encounters, Surdo’s latest body of work entitled “Tree Spirits” takes us on a foray into the forest, where leaves, branches and burls express something deeply personal. Applying his mastery of figurative realism to the natural world, he experiments with form and texture to uncover the intangible spirits of trees.

This large-scale painting entitled “Moon Spirit Dancer” is in many ways a culmination of the themes explored in this series. Pushing the limits of what a tree can be, Surdo imagines a tree with all the twists and turns of a human form. The gnarled shape explores the movement potential of trees with an exaggerated, curving gesture. Posed like a dancer, the dramatic form is at once tense and grotesque, beautiful and carefree.

The tree itself is painted with loose, expressive brushwork to create a tactile surface and enhance the sense of latent motion. Cool tones of purple and green add depth to the twisted form, and sand and grit mixed into the paint add texture to the tree’s rough surface. Surdo wrestled with acrylics and mixed materials to map the tree’s initial form, then finished the work with oil glazes for added translucency. Backlit by the soft light of a summer moon, the tree is beautiful and surreal, a heavenly body in a dream-like atmosphere. Dark and moody, the surrounding fields and distant forests further amplify the tree’s rich colors and moonlit glow.

Oil on canvas.