Challenge Day 5: Leave it to Nature

"Blue Maple, Red Oak" mixed media on gallery wrap 18x24

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer.  Helen Hunt Jackson

I’m always sad to see summer wind down. But as a nature painter, fall brings so many interesting and exciting painting subjects such as leaves, vines, gourds, apples, etc.  My color goal today in this contemporary large leaf painting was to incorporate all the "color wheel" primaries—blues, reds, and yellows.

My photo reference was from a large park where there are a variety of leaf species. I started with a strong black contour drawing of the leaves. I just used a large Sharpie but I think India ink and a brush would have been interesting as well. I also quickly washed in the initial colors with acrylic before applying my oils. This is great time saver if you need an oil painting to dry quickly. 

Am I done? I Maybe… I might add some more paint layers at some point. But for now I’m content to hang it up and move on to my next challenge painting. Thanks for stopping by and have a colorful week!