Fall Colors

Saturday, November 26, 2011

I spotted these trees at the edge of the little park across the street from where I live.  I didn't know how to capture the beautiful oranges but I knew I had to paint them.  Finally I decided to try an abstract version by flattening the picture space and using bright cool blues and greens to accentuate the complimentary fall colors.  I like the division of space and am happy I was able to capture that feeling I had when I first saw these beautiful autumn hues.  I did this on a blank watercolor greeting card so I give it to a friend for Thanksgiving. People ask me all the time why I give away so many paintings.  The answer is I don't get attached to the paintings themselves.  It is the process I love and I get to keep all I know and continue to learn every day about that.  One day in Ireland I visited a local artist's gallery and was blown away by his beautiful watercolors and asked him which painting was his favorite.  He said: "The next one."  I will never forget that wonderful lesson. 

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