Aspens in September

It was a beautiful blue sky day when I went for a walk on the trail near my house. The sky was such a deep, dark blue, I found myself staring upwards, thinking how surreal it looked. As I walked along, I noticed how the trees looked brighter, more colourful against that clear blue sky. I stopped a number of times, studying the tree trunks, seeing colours I hadn’t noticed before. If you really looked, there were purples and oranges mingled with the browns and greens. As I looked around I saw colours I hadn’t paid attention to before. This was my inspiration. I decided to be bold in my colour choices for my next painting.

I started by toning the white canvas with transparent red iron oxide mixed with glazing liquid, then painted the sky a deep, rich blue.

Then came the background. I wanted to create a feeling of ground cover and foliage with greens, browns, yellows, reds and purples overlapping each other, creating new colours, and creating a sense of depth to the painting.

After that, I started on the trees. Using a pallet knife, I overlapped colour after colour, until I got the texture and look that felt right. I was bold in my colour choices, and decided that the star of the picture would glow with a deep magenta in the bright September sunshine. (In the photo it looks red, but is a more purple tone in real life.)

Next I added the branches and leaves to the trees, and the bramble of bushes amongst the grasses and lower plants on the ground. I also added a number of smaller trees and bushes. Throughout the painting process, I was always aware of the shadows and light that I wanted to depict in this forest scene.

These are the paint colours I used for this painting.

My inspiration for this painting came from the myriad of colours I noticed in nature. They are always  there, although perhaps showing themselves more subtly than how I depicted them in this acrylic painting. I urge you to observe more intently the next time you spend time in nature and see what colours you notice. You may be surprised.

Aspens in September is on display in the Showcase Gallery in 100 Mile House for the month of March, 2020. It is an acrylic on canvas, 12” X 16”.