The brushwork in Undergrowth is broader, the use of color is more focused and cohesive, than in earlier works, and he seems less concerned with suggesting a representational setting, though he continues to generate a subtle sense of depth. As with many of his later works, the painted frame - created with loosely handled applications of a loaded brush - is a prominent feature.

Hodgkin's evocative art may be understood as a distillation of memories and emotions. In this work, he has introduced a more somber palette to suggest times past and lost friends. The details of the natural world, which function as objective correlatives for tender feelings, are recorded through an abstraction of visual language.