Autumn Path

Autumn Path
Oil on panel, 8x10

As autumn approaches, I am so inspired to capture the colors of the season.  Experiencing the onset while up north, I find myself pouring through the photos and putting them down in oils.  It is so easy to jump right to the bold colors, but I am working instead on creating the perfect cool canvas to feature the reds and yellows.  Most days that I was able to get out in the daylight to photograph, it was very overcast or downright raining.  Therefore, most all of my reference has this atmosphere built in.  The turning leaves, still clinging the to their branches, will soon fall and blow away.  Autumn is fleeting, and the days to paint in it's glory are few.  It is perhaps shorter than any other painting season.  All it takes is a day of strong winds or a quick storm blowing through, to strip those lovely trees bare.  I am hoping for a very long autumn - to paint until my heart is content.  This is painting number 279 in 279 days.