Pampas in the Wind

About this work

Where Golden Pampas shows a few plumes, this picture shows a whole field. Large feathery heads in cream and pale wheat bend to the right across the upper half, overlapping each other, their strands painted with quick, loose strokes. A few smaller plumes appear further back, paler and blurred, which gives the scene depth. The lower third is a thicket of thin grass blades and dry stems in beige, tan and soft gold. Above it all is a pale sky of warm grey and beige with no clouds and no sun. The gold is subtle, a light glow in the brightest plumes, so the picture stays quiet and close to a monochrome painting.

Wabi-sabi teaches that beauty lives in what is simple, natural and passing. A field of grass bending in the wind is almost the perfect image of it: it is never still, it changes with every season, and it will be gone and back again next year. In Japan autumn grasses are part of moon-viewing and of tea ceremony decoration for this reason. Painted in a narrow range of creams and beiges, the motif also fits the neutral palette that suits most modern homes, where walls are light and furniture is natural wood. The loose brushwork keeps it lively, so the picture never feels like wallpaper.

Its sense of movement suits a bedroom or living room, where it softens straight lines of furniture and windows. Linen, oat, greige and soft white walls let the creams glow; it also sits well on pale sage. Choose a light oak or a thin champagne frame and avoid very heavy dark frames. It pairs naturally with Golden Pampas, and with The Quiet Bonsai if you want a calmer Japanese note. Printed at 300 dpi, the file holds its feathery detail up to roughly 91 cm on the long edge.