SOLD TM8506 September’s Poem 30×50 oil on panel

By September, the lilies have vanished, leaving a clearer view into the water. Leaves scatter their gold and burnt orange  accents across the dark surface, but there’s a quiet aspect to the pond. The water seems deceptively deeper and darker, as if it were preparing for winter and its incipient cover of ice.

In choosing this view, I exaggerated the contrast between the lighter side with its sapling reflections and the darker middle and right with full woods reflected. The leaves and hints of duckweed, along with sky and cloud reflections, serve to weave color throughout the composition. Although some of the orange and gold colors are quite bright, the overall feel of the piece is calm. I kept most of the values and colors subdued, creating a sense of quiet and stillness. I still hear the frogs, however. Details below. Enjoy.

TM8506 September’s Poem – close-up from center showing paint layers and use of scraping

TM8506 September’s Poem – detail from upper left corner showing pond scum, reflections, use of scraping into wet glaze

This painting depends on many layered glazes for its color. I mixed transparent pigments into Winsor Newton’s Liquin medium, and applied the glazes with a very soft watercolor “mop” wash brush. Using a very soft brush allows the glazes to be layered while still wet.