Red, Orange, and Gold

Hi everyone,

Weeping Willow Pond and not a turtle in sight. 

They must already be in their winter quarters.

Less than a week later--a lot of leaf fall. Here I am ready to kick my way through the autumn leaves. When I was a child, I loved to do just that. So in the spirit of keeping those memories alive, I still kick my way through the leaves now and then.

Now that it has cooled down, I have the urge to knit. Not sure what yet. Espace Tricot has a lovely free hat pattern on Raverly. Do I need another hat? Probably not, but it would make a nice gift.

I am not sure what these wildflowers are. Maybe Asters bleached out from the sun?

The tree to the right reminds me of an Ent from "The Lord of the Rings.       

         Flowering Moms thrive in cool weather.

                                                 There always seems to be plenty of Crab Apples. 

                                          

On the weekend, we took a drive along The Parkway. I left my camera at home, but I won't forget the beauty anytime soon. Autumn, it seems, still has splendid tales to tell of red, orange, and gold.

                                                                     Blue skies.

* * *

From the Easel...

                  “Sentinel”                          

   Unison Pastels on UART 400 sanded paper.                                                                                                    

Although planning a painting has its place, I often prefer to dive into the deep end. In other works, take my chances with intuitive painting. For this pastel, I did an underpainting with FW acrylic Ink. Colour: Purple Lake. You can catch glimpses of it here and there. Uart holds pastel well, but it tends to curl, and no matter what I do it will usually curl a little. When I took this picture, I forgot to tape it flat, so that slight curl cut off a bit of the tree.

Recently, I bought Canson Mi-Teintes Touch 320gm paper. While made for pastel, I heard that it can be used for mixed media, including watercolour, ink, gouache, and pastel. I am anxious to give it a try.

'Til next time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Thank you, everyone for hosting!

Golden Light

Hi there,

The golden light and beauty of fall can be difficult to leave behind, and since we are in the blogging ethereal realm, and I am the captain, I've decided to extend fall, at least, pictorially.

Pretty Crab Apples

 

Tanker with its russet bow—Kingston bound.

A Pumpkin with an attitude.

* * *

Pastel

 Sometimes I enjoy the spontaneity of sitting down without a plan,  reaching for a pastel and beginning. These two paintings I fashioned from bits of memory. The second reminds me of the boreal forest of Canada. When I lived in the north, I was surrounded by black spruce with a spongy carpet of reindeer moss covering their roots.

A fact of interest: Canada's boreal forest extends from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, covering 55% of the country and, at this time, is the largest intact forest in the world!
 It covers approximately three million square km.  

I own a limited pastel palette, but I am searching, most especially, for beautiful blue pastels for the sky and for lakes and the ocean.

On the needles...

Winter companion knitting.

A lovely pattern designed by Gundrun Johnston depicting the trees of Shetland.

'Til Next time...



Cultivate Your Dreams

I'll be linking to: 

Wandering Camera

My Corner of the World

Our World Tuesday

Many thanks ladies for hosting.

Autumn Trails

Our Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone and the days are growing shorter. These shiny jewel days of light and shadow make me want to store them away like the treasure they are.
Maybe the crispiness in the air gives me a heightened sense of awareness too. Or maybe old man winter steps too close to the beauty that reigns just now. But whatever the reason, I just want to savor every moment on offer.

Crab Apples

Along the St. Lawrence River.

In the fall the sky fluctuates between stormy and fair. Rare painterly wonders. Tree tops. On and on...

I had hoped to have the drawing on the painting board by now. Although beautiful I am not sure about painting yellow flowers. Already I want to paint them purple. Call it artistic license. Gatherings. Always a night to remember. Pumpkin Inferno.  A little time on "a dark and stormy night" without a plan and some acrylic paint. Something, I reckon, to add to the mystery of Hallowe'en. 'Til next time.  Have a safe and Happy Hallowe'en! I am linking to Around the World Wednesday. And Wandering Camera. Many thanks ladies!