Artist Commentary: Ferst is a flamboyant and whimsical painter. He captures the essence of traditional landscape painting and turns it on its ear, creating vibrant and bold paintings of nature and the rural and urban images of Mexico. He is best known for his vibrant landscapes of the southwest and his storied abstractions and colorful landscapes. Recently Jeff travelled to Oaxaca and Puebla and is now transforming his memories and images from that trip into his studio creations. This is the first painting from that trip. It is a study for a larger piece currently being worked. The image is of the cool and amazingly magical forest of Tlaxcala, a state near Mexico City. The forest is at 9200 ft and is where the fireflies in summer go to mate. The painting edges are painted black and it is wired to hang.