Showing posts with label leaves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leaves. Show all posts

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Sunday Sketches

Still trying to hang on to the colors of fall before the dull days of winter. Another one of my favorite trees is the gingko tree.

The fan shape of the leaves of the gingko tree are very distinguishable from any other tree. I love the leaf's shape and in the fall the leaves turn a BRILLIANT yellow which is unmatched on the color wheel.

A friend of mine, Janet, gave me a photo she took of her friend's huge gingko tree which he planted many years ago as a little sapling. Her picture was a view of the magnificent tree through the french doors of his house. The photo inspired my sketch.

More Sunday Sketchers......

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Sunday Sketches

The colors of fall here in Washington have been exquisite!

Notice I used the past tense..........the Pacific Northwest rains have returned; days and days of it. Although sometimes if you watch for it, you might be lucky to catch a "window" without rain. I have learned to get outdoors no matter what otherwise it can become depressing.

In my studio I am still enjoying the fall colors and creating watercolor paintings of the brilliant colored leaves. The big leaf maples are one of my favorites. The shape of its leaves and colors are awesome!


More Sunday Sketchers.....

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sunday Sketches

THE RETURN OF THE PRIMROSE!

I get sooo excited when those dead looking primroses of winter start to bud and grow green leaves. It is a miracle!

I also like the shapes of the leaves and the contrast of the dead brown color to the new green and bloom. I found this one growing out from the hole in the pot which use to hang.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Sunday Sketches

Scribbling

Do you remember scribbling when you were a child? Or, better yet, getting accused of scribbling by another child who thought they were cool?

As an art therapist, I am aware of scribbling as the first stage of artistic development for a child. It is such a freeing feeling and can be very colorful.

I was having these thoughts as I scribbled with colored pencils to create my maple leaf sketch. What fun! It is the only way I know to layer color with this medium. Leaves are a favorite of mine and I could not resist filling a page of my sketchbook with a leaf in its last days.

Maybe it is symbolic of the year ending?



Happy New Year!


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Sunday Sketches

Still learning about this Sketchbook Project 2012 process.

Today's lesson; Joanne verses "the paper."

I wanted to give a blast of color with watercolors to emphasize the leaves' fall color. The paper got saturated and started to shred. Immediately I took out the hair dryer before disaster occurred and I would have to remove another page from the sketchbook.

I remembered that my ink pen leaked through this paper, therefore, I opted for colored pencil to bring out the leaves and trees.

Hey, it worked! Score one for Joanne!



I have to figure out what to do with the next page because it is now wavy from the use of water on this page.

Ah, the challenge continues........

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Autumn Leaves and Rainbow

Yes, we get rained on a lot here in Olympia, Washington. Fortunately, it fosters fantastic skies and today while walking the Chehalis Western Trail with my dog, a full rainbow spread across the sky.

I have not been very successful photographing rainbows, but with only my cell phone camera at hand, I gave it a try.


The sunlight came at an angle which highlighted the maple leaves on the trail. As you already know, I love leaves and could not resist another cell phone photo of this spectacular sight.


Close up, it looks like this.



I was reminded of a story Leo Buscaglia, who was a professor at the University of Southern California and beloved speaker, told in one of his speaking engagements about his neighbor's who did not like the look of all the leaves on his front lawn. One day as he was teaching a small class at his home, a neighbor came to his door to complain and request that Leo do something about the leaves because it was a disgrace to the neighborhood. Leo said he loved the leaves (I can relate!). At that moment he told all his students to help him gather all the leaves and bring them into the house. Which they did. The lesson was continued while they sat in the leaves in Leo's living room.
My kind of guy!

I found this last photo very dramatic with the dark sky, a single white cloud, and the dark tree with the moss lit by the sunlight.



Another glorious morning on the Chehalis Western Trail!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Autumn Leaves

The other day, as I walked the Chehalis Western Trail in Olympia, Washington, with my dog, I found myself shuffling the piles of leaves which reminded me of childhood.

Did you ever get a chance to play in the autumn leaves?

The next day I met the person whose job it is to blow the leaves off the trail. For maybe an hour or so the trail was totally void of leaves, imagine that!

When I walked the trail again the leaves returned and the patterns were very striking with the wet, black asphalt as a background. I found one of those huge maple leaves and took its picture.


Nature's still life.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Maple Blooms

Lately I have been fascinated by how quickly the leaves of the Big Leaf Maple grow. The other day they were mire sprouts with long beautiful chain of blooms and today they are actual leaves. I believe if you spent the day watching, you could actually see the leaves grow!

They make a pretty picture, wouldn't you agree?