Before the First Frost

Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy' with witchhazel.

The back yard from the west side.

 

On Halloween day the fall foliage was at its most colorful. We haven't had our first frost yet, though it's announced for tonight, so I took the opportunity to take these photos of my garden just before the plants get cut back by the frost. We've had a few storms with a lot of wind lately--the most recent casualty was the iron hoop arbor that held up the honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler,' which blew down.

 

Fallen arbor with 'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle

The structure had been weakened earlier; I noticed that the vine's expanding trunk had pulled out one of the bolts during the early summer, and the storm that brought down our old oak bent it further. The storm last week was the final straw. It's such a tangle, I'll have to prune back most of the honeysuckle vine to remove the iron armature, and then figure out some way of propping up the vine to let it grow once again. This is one of the hummingbird's favorites, so I hope the drastic pruning won't affect next year's blooms.

Viburnum 'Brandywine'

 

Both of my cultivar Viburnums have showy berries and fall foliage: the berries of 'Brandywine' have changed from the soft pink of early fall to blue-black, as its leaves turn a lovely red-orange. My Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy,' which bloomed for the first time this year, is covered with red berries. I wonder what color the foliage will be when it starts to turn?

White lilac blooming

The unseasonably warm and wet weather has fooled the white lilac into blooming--I purchased this one as a named cultivar 'Primrose' and it has turned out to be a rather odd white-blooming one, rather than the pale yellow I was supposed to get. I wonder if the unseasonable blooms are part of this plant's mixed genetic make-up or just a fluke?

Salvia 'Windwalker Royal Red'

The perennial red Salvia I planted this past spring didn't start blooming until very late in the year, and is only now reaching its peak of bloom. It's a bit floppy, but what a gorgeous flower color! I should prune it back before blooming time next year, to see if the flowers will stay more upright.

 

Back corner of the yard from Herb's bed.

 

The northeast corner of the back yard is looking very colorful right now, with the Amsonia leaves turning my flower bed gold, to match the hickories and oaks in the woods. The Kousa dogwood is showing beautiful colors too.

Kousa dogwood.

The Front garden, west side.

Of course, this posting wouldn't be complete without this year's jack o'lantern: Happy Halloween!

Golden October Afternoon

Golden October Afternoon, oils on canvas panel, 12" x 9." Contact artist for price.

Last Saturday was a beautiful fall day, sunny and warmer than the day before. In the morning I had to run errands, among them picking up my paintings from the Ellicott City Paint It show (none of them sold). By afternoon the wind had died down and the temperature was delightful, so I went out to paint at my current favorite spot by the Patapsco River.

It's been so warm many trees are just starting to change color; this year the leaves are not as colorful as in other years due to our summer drought. Still, I wanted to paint the fall colors and the late afternoon light had set these trees at my favorite spot a-glow. I had just about two hours to do my painting--I didn't want to get caught here after dark should the park gates be closed at night.

Sometimes pressure can be a good thing: it forces one to focus and make decisions quickly. I managed to lay in blocks of foliage in yellow-orange tones in the background with warm shadows fairly fast. I knew the light would vanish soon, weaving the golden orange glow in the water into darker shades. I kept to the warm earth tones for the shadows throughout (Mars violet is a versatile pigment), and worked the greener foliage in the foreground with the branch details and the rocks last. I am pleased and feel the painting captures the wonderful light of that afternoon.

By the time I finished and packed up my gear, the sun had gone from all but the tops of the trees, and the air was getting chilly. The day hikers and picnickers had left, and a few campers were settling in for the night.

A Symphony of Color

Week 7 of Class: Belvoir Road in the Morning, oils, 9"x 12"
Belvoir Road in the Afternoon, oils 12" x 9"

Driving to class in the morning, it seemed the foliage was even more vivid than last weekend: stands of trees looking like molten bronze in the morning haze, small bushes in magenta and purple-reds creating a veritable symphony of harmonies in color.

We set up our easels in the woods just like the week before, but the light was again very different from last week's sunny, crisp day. Today, fingers of sunlight played upon the road from time to time as the sun broke through the clouds moving overhead, but it was delightfully warm. The carpet of leaves was finer in color than any Persian rug I've ever seen.

I was able to stay all day and do another painting in the afternoon, painting until the last rays of the sun were disappearing behind the trees. Gloom was descending upon the woods by the time I got everything packed, though it was only five o'clock. I'm always a bit sad to see the days become shorter, though autumn brings the year's end in a glorious crescendo of color.

Halloween

This year's jack o'lantern: The Cat's Eyes carved by Herb
Fifth Week of Class: Belvoir Road on Halloween, 12" x 9"

It's been a tough week, my friends: on Wednesday evening I rear-ended an SUV on my way home after a particularly tiring 12-hour day. Fortunately, no one was injured, but as a result of the accident, my beloved 10-year-old Saab, "Spice Girl" is now a piece of junk.

I couldn't have made it to class if it hadn't been for the loan of Herb's car, but I was extremely glad to be there and put the whole week behind me. The day was beautiful and we had a different view of Belvoir to paint, with strong shadows in the foreground and a brightly-lit background.

My painting turned out fairly well--finally got to use some of the cadmium reds and oranges for the foliage colors and the light and shadows are convincing. I was amazed to see how quickly it came together following Lee's method. Another change in approach that has been enormously helpful is to sketch with straight lines only--this makes for a much stronger composition from the beginning.

In the late afternoon, just before dark, I sketched out this year's traditional jack o'lantern on the pumpkin and Herb carved it in record time, just before the first trick-or-treaters rang our doorbell. In all, it was a wonderful, warm Halloween with the fall foliage at its peak.