Autumn Shadow, oil on canvas with frame 32"x50"x2", 2023

Original oil on canvas with frame 32 x 50 x2 inches.

“My thought is like petal of parting,

  Dancing with wind and fall into stream’s hand”

The best time of year to paint outdoors is undoubtedly autumn. The weather is temperate, the sun is shining, and the sky is the intensest blue, especially when it is seen against the bright orange and yellows of the Fall maples. The late afternoon shadows are deep purple. The falling leaves on the black path shine like diamonds. This creates dramatic contrast with the sumac bushes hit by the late afternoon sunbeams.

In this painting, I did a small color study on the field with oil and worked on the large oil in my studio later. Fall encourages a surge of color. Nothing is too bright, no light to pale, to express its brilliance; no dark is deep enough to do justice to the blackness of the shadow.