About the photograph

Snow was falling, and for a moment the cloud above the hill tore open, dark at its edges and bright behind. I stood on the far side, where a few dry branches came up through the fresh snow, and kept them small in the corner so the tree and the sky do the talking. It is a single instant, so the broken cloud is sharp, exactly as it looked.

What it does for the room

The frame is tall and mostly white, so it brings light and calm rather than weight. Above a sofa or a bed, choose 24×36 or 20×30 so it reads as a finished piece on a wider wall. On a narrow wall, beside a bed or in a hallway, 12×18 or 16×24 sits well. A square crop (20×20 or 24×24) suits a console or a pair of shelves. The greys are soft, not stark, and they sit with light oak, linen, stone and warm white walls without feeling cold.

Real photograph

One exposure, made on location. No composites, no generated content. Tone and light are refined in editing, as with any fine-art print.

Where it fits

Living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and reading corners in japandi, Scandinavian and quiet minimalist homes. As a gift, it suits someone who has travelled to Hokkaido in winter, or anyone who wants a calm wall, and the story of the lone spruce in Biei is something to say when it is opened.

Feng Shui Application Info

In Chinese painting, the evergreen that stays green through winter is an emblem of steadiness. Here the lone spruce of Biei, Hokkaido, stands under a torn winter cloud.
Placement in the tradition: a living room or study, on an east or south-east wall, the two directions of the wood element.
Kua number: in the Eight Mansions school the east and south-east walls belong to the East group, Kua 1, 3, 4 and 9. This pairing is read from the published direction tables; no text was written for this picture.
It is a real photograph for your wall, with no promise of luck or fortune.

On the wall, true to scale

Frames and mats shown for illustration only and are not included. Your print ships unframed.