The Forest in Summer

The first print in Bull's four-season forest series, completed in 2007, establishes the compositional framework used across all four works: a view into or through a deciduous woodland, with vertical tree trunks providing structure and the canopy filling the upper portion of the picture plane. Summer presents the forest in full leaf, with deep, saturated greens requiring multiple overprinted layers to achieve the density of high summer foliage. In mokuhanga, achieving rich darks without muddying requires careful pigment selection and controlled humidity management during printing. The dappled light characteristic of summer woodland — patches of brightness amid deep shadow — creates a tonal challenge well-suited to a medium that handles gradation through bokashi more naturally than hard-edged contrast.