TM8399 Autumn Reverie 36×40 oil on panel

Autumn Reverie explores a quiet, late September afternoon at the pond. Leaves are beginning to fall and the colors are sidling toward dusky reds.  I’ve heard fewer frogs, children, and dogs on my walk.  In fact, the quiet has been startling – only the sound of leaves drifting onto the water. Enjoy!

TM8399 Autumn Reverie (detail of reflections)

Technical painting notes: Autumn Reverie began with a base color of burnt sienna, violet, and burnt umber rolled onto the panel with a soft rubber brayer. I used a plastic bag dipped in a mixture of mineral spirits, linseed oil, and alkyd medium to push the paint around, hoping to get a streaky “brushy” look.  Mineral spirits were dripped onto the panel and blotted to create textures. I used a silicone-tipped tool to draw lines into the wet surface, and a paper towel to blot out a few shapes. Two days later the panel was dry and I could begin glazing, first with some red, crimson, and green tones, then later with layers of pale blue grays to suggest the sky. Details were painted in and layered with more glazes over the course of the week. I find that a very soft watercolor brush is terrific for glazing – especially for feathering the edges to create atmospheric light effects. I placed the foreground leaves into the composition to provide a realistic anchor, and to reinforce the sense of both a moment in time and an awareness of time’s passing.