warmer yet

My front yard looks as though giant paint tubes of cadmium red and cadmium yellow have exploded and splattered everywhere. I have a wonderful maple tree that is giving me so much pleasure this week. I gathered leaves today just to marvel at the colors, nothing I can paint will capture this complexity and brilliance. I scanned some of my leaves just to save this moment and share.

warmest

A very large, very warm canvas of a huge hibiscus flower.

(Maybe I should wait and post this painting in the middle of January, when I will really need the heat.)

I intend to display this one at my big show in December.

48"x48" acrylic on canvas

warmer

The fall colors in the Chicago area where I live are just now peaking. It doesn't matter if the sky is clear and blue or overcast and murky gray, the colors are really intense. I can enjoy the effect of a brilliant red maple on a rainy dark day even more. Or, the thrill of nearly black wet tree trunks that contrast with yellow and gold foliage along the roadside.

Another detail that I scanned off a much larger painting of another hibiscus flower. And this is really how brilliant the colors are that I can see from my studio window today.

warm

Lovely October days make you happy to feel the warmth of the sun and to see the red and gold colors. This is a plus factor about living in the Northern Illinois area.

I am painting a series for my big show in December. Lots of sunflowers, which I will show as I finish.

And this is a detail from a very warm tone painting of a hibiscus flower. I didn't get a photo of the whole thing, but I like this snippet of the texture and edges.