This grand English country house resonates with the splendid solitude of its sylvan setting. It is just such a center of tranquility as the poet imagines: the quiet heart of a calm world. The harmony between man and nature, between the human and the divine, is mirrored in a scene such as the one I portray in Beyond Summer Gate. This house, with its lavish flower garden, is somehow beyond time. It whispers of the eternal.

Summer is the season of color. The full range of nature's rainbow hues are on display in this floral paradise. Indeed, I've taken some liberties in Beyond Summer Gate. I've compressed the season, allowing the early-flowering dogwood and the late blooming azalea to display their briliant blossoms together. Here you'll find climbing roses, bluebells, foxgloves, and fruit trees all in full flower as they never are in nature. The artist, after all, is entitled to a certain license, so long as it is in the service of beauty.

The Summer Gate of my first print is just beyond our view down the winding path, but the manor house is made of the same weathered stone; it, too, will endure. The tranquility of evening has settled on this country manor, inviting us to stroll the grounds before we settle in for some tea and talk. I hope you will join me.

-Thomas Kinkade