Autumn Glee

 An acrylic extravaganza

Colors,of Autumn

This turned out to be an easy paint with a simple, clean look. The one below was more ambitious. I did a little sponge work on the leaves. The mossy stones were harder. I still have some shadows to fill in. 

Fall

Pumpkin coffee, bright leaves, cool weather-- all dreams in Texas. So here is my tribute to autumn further north. 

When I fact, this is what's happening in my neighborhood:

New projects

Several of my friends have birthdays, so I am cranking up the paint projects. 

Still obsessed with old doors, i'm learning about shadows and rocks and when to quit. 

I got a new paint table. It's actually a drafting table from World Market. 

It's supposed to be used tilted, but I use it more often as shown above. 

It's a handsome piece of woodwork. So naturally, I've covered it with a cheap plastic tablecloth so as not to get it all nasty with acrylics. 

This is an unusually large picture of blackberries. No one likes it but me. I adore it. Maybe it reminds me of blackberry pie? Yes, Mom's blackberry pie.  We used to go in the woods with our boots on and longsleeved shirts, buckets belted around our waists.  You could pick buckets and buckets of berries at the right time of year. 

This is a painting of an old grist mill. It reminds me of the ruins of an old powder mill that used to be behind our house in New Florence, Pennsylvania. 

Our house was up Furnace Lane road, several miles out of town.  We had 50 acres in the middle of State Gamelands.  If you hiked to our upper field, then took off through the woods, you'd come to huge rocks, a briskly flowing stream that was almost a little river, and the ruins of an old powder mill. Some old-timer told us when we moved there in 1972 that it had been a place where gunpowder was manufactured during the Civil or Revolutionary War. There were big rocks that formed a sheltered area, which, it was rumored, had been inhabited by Indians years and years ago.  

Any way, this mill reminds me of that area.  A little nostalgia with fall colors. 

Fall in the Texas Hill Country

The people show how massive these trees are.

Tree Fascination

I like trees. The ever-changing colors, the varied shapes,  the shadows cast. This painting was fun to do.  Some paintings take no time and are pure joy to put on canvas. This was one of those. 

My river paintings are a royal pain, a labor of love, an attempt to recreate favorite places.  

My people painting is worse than that. It's agony and repainting and trying to portray something other than wooden dolls or stick figures. 

Tree painting is child's play. 

Fall and Harvest Moon

Since September in Texas is still hot as blazes, I'm pretending by painting autumn landscapes. Let there be pumpkin latte!

Fall foliage, Frio River

For inspiration, I have photos and memories of the most beautiful place on earth. 

Fall foliage

This weekend's finish

Bridge in the woods

I'm putting away all my paints as we're expecting company with small children in the coming weeks.  However, I started this water color-style painting. Can I really abstain from painting during this trip, then in the ten days afterward? I packed my sketchbook, then unpacked it.  Too bulky. And will it be too windy to sketch? 

Christmas Vacation

Over Christmas, I packed up my paints and headed for the Hill Country.  While there, I worked on a display of Cypress trees by the Frio River.  It came out pretty well.  I can tell, because my husband, who doesn't say a lot about my painting, was quite enthusiastic!

I also worked on some purple paintings for my sis-in-law.