Painting of the Day

"Fall at Blackman's Lake" 10" x 13" watercolor

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month and with all the creative outpouring of words, I've had little chance to paint. And so, after nearly three weeks of no-painting I just had to get out my brushes and paint something.

I've been watching the trees for weeks, trying to remember the process of color in transition from Summer to Fall. We had several strong wind storms early on that tore the leaves from the trees. But a few in sheltered areas kept their leaves for a bit longer. One morning at dawn I looked out my window and saw one tree still dressed in golden leaves catching the morning sun. I did a quick sketch in colored pencil and took some color notes. Then I left the sketch on my desk for nearly two weeks. Tonight. I decided to try and capture the image in watercolor.

I like the result. I think it suggests the trees in the marshland behind my house pretty well. It's also nice to know that I haven't forgotten EVERYTHING I've ever learned about painting after all that time off. ;-)