A Forest That Is Not Seen – Artist’s Statement
A Forest That Is Not Seen does not mean an invisible forest. It means a forest that cannot be understood only through what we see.
A forest is made of trees, leaves, soil, water and light. But when we enter a forest, we do not experience these things separately. We experience them as a whole—the darkness, the light, the ground, the movement, the mystery and the uncertainty of what lies beyond.
That is what I try to paint. I am not trying to describe a forest or show everything that exists there. I try to capture the feeling that remains in me after seeing it.
Perhaps that forest cannot be painted completely. It can only be suggested.
That is the forest I am searching for—a forest that is not merely seen, but felt.”
– Magunta Dayakar
About The Artist:
Magunta Dayakar (real name: Magunta Venkatasubba Reddy) is a self-taught painter and writer from rural India. Inspired as a young man by American art books, he developed his understanding of painting through decades of independent study, observation, and practice rather than formal academic training. Today, he is the author of eighteen books on painting, read by artists and art students in the United States and around the world.
For more than twenty years, Dayakar has devoted himself to painting forests. Rather than depicting scenic landscapes, he explores the invisible forces that shape them—gravity, water, moisture, slopes, compression, pressure, decay, and renewal. These forces have become the true subject of his work.
His recent paintings mark a journey from Objective Realism to what he calls Perceptual Realism. While Objective Realism presents the forest as something observed from the outside, Perceptual Realism invites the viewer to experience it from within. Through rhythm, texture, atmosphere, and layered space, his paintings seek to evoke the sensation of standing inside the forest rather than simply looking at it.
His work is not an attempt to paint the appearance of a forest, but the experience of being inside one.
My Books on Art which are available on amazon.
How To Start A Painting And How To Plan It ?
How To Finish A Painting ?
Painting Landscapes From Imagination
Learn Composition and Create Beautiful Paintings
Simplified Color Schemes for Art Students
Capturing Movement in Portrait Painting
Who Fails As An Artist…? … One who loves his Paintings
Straight Talk On Painting and Painter’s Problems
My Paintings of Abstract Realism
How To Teach Sketching For Adults?
Character of the Creator: Do you have it in you?
On Value, Color and Composition
9 Keys to Successful Painting: For those who love to paint but don’t have the time to study the science behind painting
Some Tips, Techniques And Artistic Secrets To Paint Colorful Forest Scenes – A Short Guide for Art Students
I, Forest Painter: Insights, Perspectives and Finishing Moments
Why Do Forest Paintings Look Like Landscapes?: The 13 Concepts Every Forest Painter Must Know
Forests Beyond Trees: A Simple Narrative for Artists on Forest Behaviour
A Forest Painter’s Journey Toward Perceptual Realism