Sunday, October 17, 2010

Glimmering Light A Play Upon A Painterly Autumn Landscape


Dreamy soft oil pastel tones awaken touched by Gamblin's Quinacridone Violet with White streaks of new daylight. A Black Cherry along the forest edge casts a contrasting Indian Yellow golden glow.


Cadmium Orange Deep Maple leaves compliment Mount Tom wearing hazy smokey strokes of Manganese Blue Hue. Blankets of downy clouds scumble over the pigments deepening and softening the tints. A mark of Alizarin Crimson completes the focus of three surrounded by countless steady evergreen and blazing deciduous trees.


 Viewing from a second floor window around ten o'clock, as a bird might fly down towards the ocean of a mixed palette of greens, oranges and yellows flowing along the base of the Mount Holyoke Range. I would paint the old bending Apple trunks with a Dioxazine Purple and the chairs a Sap Green.


Turning our heads further right the landscape takes in Mount Tom and more of the terraced gardens. The worn mountains seem to be flowing off the edge of the canvas.


Continuing the exercise . . .  now to the left . . . still from above, we find drama in a beloved serpentine Black Cherry ablaze in Cadmium Yellow Deep standing in discourse with a stately Oak content for now with its Cobalt Green.  Below a wide palette knife stroke of Cadmium Red Light Sumac trails along the earth. The hills of Carey,Walnut and High Ridge run off towards the north sporting a fiery fleece. 


The mid morning sun peeks out from behind mats of cotton clouds . . .  adding bright Titanium White to the autumnal landscape painting . . .  leaves joyously glimmer bathed in refreshing light. 


A beloved serpentine Black Cherry reaches high up to the sky like a great statue or stallion in the north field. We see his lively mane in the three photos directly above . . . a majestic creature from any viewpoint in the gardens or house. Rich deep dark Violet strokes paint this sinuous trunk.


An Apple gateway opening into the blueberry field going down and wildly mad in reds. Tiny dabs mirrored in the foreground of Weeping Cherry. Some Titanium-Zinc White will be added to the Violet and Portland Grey Deep trunk nearest us. I find these heavy marks a great contrast to the soft Cad. Reds and Oranges.


I love a cloudy day full of play . . . the ball of sun is tossed about . . . throwing light around like in a Jackson Pollock painting. 


Blueberries decide to change into Cadmium Reds with earthy Burnt Sienna tones to make their mark for fall. Rapid strokes of chalky White frame this prized bush. 


A now vacant house awaits returning Tree Swallows. The Impressionist landscape in the background was filled with the magical flight and song of their iridescent Indigo Blue. The south field is more alive with their fanciful soaring and flights. 


Below the birdhouse carpets of Cobalt Violet wild Asters cover the field and attract other colorful whimsical creatures. 


This little male Orange Sulphur is perhaps enjoying his last supper before becoming a green chrysalis with dots of yellow and black. The grassy green caterpillar . . .  with pink and white stripes. . .  survived the rabbit chomps on white clover or vetch and hopefully the overwintering chrysalis will escape the wild turkeys, robins and bluebirds. I love how the photo mirrors all the colors in my first dawn photo. I do not believe I would try to paint this image, for the photograph is painterly enough. Next time we will step more into the gardens and see what its palette has to show.
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