Thursday 1 September 2011

Painting Leaves

This is another quick one, longer than I would have hoped but I decided to use a glaze and for that I needed the first layers of paint to dry. I found a leaf, dry, dead I suppose but in its demise it caught my eye. Dry yet the colours seems so vibrant. I like to paint from life, it is so much more rewarding than working from photo's. So I stuck the leaf to the wall in front of my easel and painted it. I am happy with the result. I have been thinking a lot lately about solitude, and how I find being an artist is very much a solitary pursuit. This painting is more about solitude than a sketch of a dry leaf. Artist and subject, all else fades away for the process.

I Stuck a Leaf to my Wall, Oil on Fabriano Paper, 19"x 14"

4 comments:

John Salmon said...

Oh! that's a sad little leaf all on his own, and it looks like you've even included a little bit of tape that you used to stick it to your wall.

Some people like the autumn and the colours that autumn brings but it's always been a sad season for me. There is a last blast of colour before the colder temperatures kick in but apart from the rich yellows and reds of some trees I get a feeling of sadness seeing the siennas and umbers of the dying foliage because it means that we need to endure the longer evenings and see the winter out before we can experience the fresh acid greens and bright yellows of a new spring.

Samantha Anne Hutchinson said...

I painted the tape too yes! The leaf just floated without it. For some or other reason spring and summer are my most depressive months. When it gets darker and colder I feel more creative, I do my best work in the winter months! An oddball is me :)

John Salmon said...

"I do my best work in the winter months" Yeah me too, but only because I can't get out and about in the nice warm weather. I just find too many distractions in the summer. Zero discipline.

Samantha Anne Hutchinson said...

I also have zero discipline, you're not alone there John!