Step into New Zealand's bush world with this evocative image that captures the night-time play of light and shade in a forest clearing.

From a shadowy foreground you can look across a brilliant shaft of moonlight falling on the forest floor to a stand of young Kauri trees on the far side of the clearing. Moonlight picks out the branches of the foreground trees and falls in bright patches on the forest floor below them.

There is quite a lot of activity in the forest world at night-time. Our Demon Dragons - the New Zealand Wetas - are likely to be out looking for a feed as will be the Morepork (the New Zealand Owl) and the Kiwi - both nocturnal birds. Snails and insects, maybe bats and mice go about their business of searching for food.

Unfortunately, probably the most noise will be made by the Opossum, introduced from Australia, which will be out munching leaves and fruits. Opossums are a real danger to our forests and control is an ongoing thing. It used to be that quite a good income could be made by trapping possums but all that has changed and Government control measures now concentrate on poison, which is not necessarily the ideal solution.

Acrylic on Board. Sketch for a larger work. Overall size is 6.5" x 8.5".

Sold - Hamilton NZ.