Red Maple Brilliance October 8th, Autumn 2018
October 9, 2018 1 Comment
I started doing this series of Faber-Castell watercolor pencils paintings a few years ago in the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. At the time, I was living in a cabin adjacent to Bill Light’s home which he built for his daughter. I stayed there a few months, absolutely gorgeous woods. I’d go hiking with Luna, Bill’s dog, who’s not so large but very capable. I loved going on walks with Luna, and she loved going on walks with me. Beautiful pristine forest. Luna encountered bears a number of times….and she barked them up a tree each time. A very brave, confident dog, even though she was aging.
Here are several paintings, showing the progression from the first sitting and then completed in the next. Below is a flickr link to paintings done with (watercolor) colored-pencils 1,000 feet above Santa Fe, New Mexico elevation 7,198 feet, in the National Forest – where I’ve gone on walks with Luna, the owner’s dog
Luna my former companion on my walks to the woods
red maple signed
Here’s the latest Faber-Castell watercolor pencil painting! That’s a mouth full. Red Maple in Autumn BrillianceRoger Willams Park, Providence, RI
Oct. 8th
Red Maple Autumn Brilliance
the red maple subject
I went out Sunday deciding to bicycle to Roger Williams park for a change (I’d been going to the cemetery close to where I live). Well I saw this fantastically brilliant Maple as I was coming in the one entrance…cycled around to other places…and wound up coming back to this cuz no other tree matched its brilliance at this time. I then couldn’t wait to return, I couldn’t get it completed that day as the dusk crept in. Then I had to carry it on my back in my pack while I danced for hours, running into the night time shows under the bridge of all these marching bands for the Pronk Fest, which was just fantastic. There were colored lights illuminating the bridge, and crowds cheering the bands, and the final band, final song was one which had a lovely and simple tune, so that many people there in this echo chamber sang this over and over (me included). A very lovely heart felt song archipello, and everyone after numerous repetitions, all magically stopped and cheered at exactly the same time. Singing this was one of those life’s special moments.
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As with impressionism, one needs to stand back and refocus their mind to really appreciate your work (which I have said before). The maple’s vivid leaves emerge as if they were floating. They occupy a dimension of their own, a beautiful tapestry. You chose the perfect intensity to overcome fall blues.
I dare say your flamboyant drawing outshines the “natural” colors shown in your photograph on my computer, and even in my memory. Your watercolor emulates a world before and well beyond the onset of photography. The muted calmness of its verdant atmosphere invites a well-balanced contrast into a familiar background. Take advantage of these warm days. You are an ideal!