Whispers of the Wind and Trees

Wind sweeps through the grove, Leaves murmur in soft rhythm, Time drifts with the breeze.   This work by Mari Stoel inherits the expressive and emotionally charged brushwork of Vincent van Gogh, while developing a looser and more spontaneous technique within the framework of expressionist landscape painting. Using bold and dynamic brushstrokes, Stoel shapes the trees and water, filling the composition with a sense of movement, as if the wind is sweeping through the forest. In terms of color, he primarily employs cool tones (blues and greens), complemented by warm accents, creating a sense of atmosphere and depth. Unlike Van Gogh’s swirling strokes, Stoel’s brushwork is more open and gestural, relying on irregular composition and shifting light to capture the fleeting essence of nature. The interplay of reflections on the water and the shifting light through the leaves creates a rhythmic tension—though still, the painting feels alive. This is not merely a landscape but a meditation on the transience of nature and the passage of time, making the viewer almost hear the wind whispering through the trees.