Whose Woods These Are - a B and white illustration by Duncan Long

Robert Frost wrote the beautiful “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Back in the dark ages of my grade school learning, our sixth grade teacher had us memorize that poem. What a nice gift to give young learners. That poem has brought me joy through the years, and a tear or two as the years roll by.

The joy of the woods is carried in the mind when we are forced to leave the wilderness to live in the noise and crowded spaces of the city. Perhaps, one day before I die, I can return to the freedom and privacy of the country, to listen to the quiet shuffling of snow flakes falling through the trees on a snowy evening.

Perhaps.

In the meantime, I’ve created a black and white picture with a little negative-space play, first (for most people) displaying woods beside a cliff in the wilderness, and then transforming into the memory of trees carried in the mind when the cliff reverses to become a face.

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Duncan Long is a freelance book illustrator. His book cover artwork has appeared on titles from HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Paladin Press, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See more of his work at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html

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