Autumn Under Foot

This past October, on a walk to our lake, I brought my digital camera and was taking shots of all the gorgeous colors on the trees.  It was a beautiful day, as autumn was fast disappearing - lots of leaves had already fallen from the trees.  One look down and I was awed by the beauty of the pattern of leaves, the colors and the fallen dew drops from that morning.  The photos I took were like a work of art in themselves but, I was determined to try to paint at least one of the photos.  I loved the white leaf that is prominent in the painting.  Where did it come from, when all the others were faded and full of color?  This is my rendition of autumn under foot.

11x14 pastel on Richeson gatorboard

Las Cruses Sunset

Last June, we stopped at a campsite in Las Cruses, New Mexico for a few nights.  To say it was hot is an exaggeration - it was EXTREMELY hot!  We were parked in a lovely spot, though, above the city and the mountains so that every night was a riot of color as the sun set.  I tried to capture on digital camera the beauty of those sunsets, but really, it's not possible.  I used one of the photos I did take and tried to remember all the color on the mountains and the city lights.  I also decided to use a Richeson board that I prepared with acrylic gesso, in order to have some texture to the painting.  I'm happy with the results - it represents a June night high above Las Cruses, NM.

11x14 pastel