This painting was born out of a moment of stillness during a walk in the countryside. I took the photograph on which the work is based on a summer day when the light was just beginning to change - that brief, almost magical hour when day slowly gives way to evening. The shadows lengthened, the colours softened, and the landscape seemed to turn in on itself.
In the painting, I tried to capture that transition: the warm glow of the setting sun on the horizon, the deep green of the bushes slowly fading into darkness, and the road losing itself in the distance with a slight bend. The thick brush strokes and the play of light and shadow give the work a tangible calm, as if the sky itself is holding its breath for a moment before night falls.
It is an ode to simplicity and silence - to those small, often unnoticed moments when nature shows its most intimate face, and the world seems to be completely in balance for a moment.
Created by Geert Van Baelen with support from AI.
Geert Van Baelen has been working as a press photographer in Belgium for over 20 years. Besides current affairs, he also finds inspiration for his images in everyday life, landscapes and people... Read more…