With Winter fast approaching it is good to have a memory of Summer and the thought that one day it will all return. Meantime, there is always something to enjoy in every season. All you have to do is let it find you.
A memory of Summer
Author: grahamfindlaywatercolours
I am an artist and teacher based in the Cotswolds, United Kingdom.
Corner Cherry Tree
This cherry tree stands on a corner near my home and at this time of year is truly stunning. However overcast the sky, the tree always looks as if it stands in bright sunshine, its colours are so strong.
Shadows of Gin
Unfortunately, the Gin was missing – only the bottle reached me, but in fairness it was the light coming through the bottle which made me want to paint it. I wasn’t sure which red would work best, so I painted brushstrokes of a few different reds onto an offcut of paper, and then held it behind the bottle while I looked through the coloured glass. One of the brushstrokes seemed to disappear, which meant that was the one closest to the colour of the bottle. And the winner was… Cadmium Scarlet. I added Crimson and a little Violet for the shadows and left some slithers of untouched paper for some of the lights
This is in a small sketchbook done at the end of a long day spent painting something much larger. I should really have put it into context, showing it on a table or a window sill or something – but there is always another day.
Neighbourhood View
I saw this view while I was washing the car this morning. The autumnal colours of the trees bringing this usually shadowed corner out into the spotlight, if only for a little while. By the time I had finished the car and sketched this, the sky was beginning to look a lot more grey. I used New Gamboge and Burnt Sienna for the main tree.
Another time, I might not align the lamp post with the edge of the refuse bin quite so well. Originally I wasn’t thinking of taking it as far over to the right, but it just happened, you know?
Painted in a hardbound A4 sketchbook Stillman & Birn, beta series.
The last three
Today, three pears remain uneaten, although if those we had last night with chopped pecan nuts and maple syrup were anything to go by, I don’t expect them to be around much longer. Apparently, Pears ripen from the inside outwards, so there is no point in prodding them while still on the tree. You have to lift them off gently just before they drop. When you come to sketch them, you have to try really hard not to make them look too much like old-fashioned light bulbs!
Two Pears
After many years of trying, our little Pear tree has produced fruit which has reached full size. It’s a race to paint them before they are eaten, but I hope I may manage a few more.
Autumn Produce
One of the joys of Autumn/Fall are the colours unique to the season.
I enjoy seasonal painting whether it is Snowdrops or Daffodils in Spring, the rich colours of a Summer garden or the fruits and berries of Autumn. ( I also like Winter landscapes and snow). The point is, every season has something to look forward to, and it is the anticipation during the rest of the year which makes it so special. For example, would Pumpkins excite us as much if they were as abundant throughout the year as they are in October?
Munchkin Pumpkin
Nothing says ‘Autumn’ quite as much as pumpkins, even the little munchkins! Whether out in the garden or inside on a table, they always bring a splash of welcome colour into our lives as the days become shorter and greyer.
Blood Red
Growing silently and unmolested by any unwanted intruders in the vegetable garden, this is the largest, so far, of a row of North Holland Blood Red onions. I always like to paint any produce like this whether it is from the garden or brought home from the shops. I particularly liked the range of colors from dark red, through Burnt Sienna, white and greens on the stem. It also has very white roots.
Ice House
Ice houses were used to store ice in the days before the invention of refrigerators. They were perhaps a status-symbol to impress one’s guests by being able to offer them ice-creams in the summer. Be that as it may, Ice houses have been around for a long time and were often built as underground chambers close to the source of winter ice. Apparently during winter the ice was carved out from the river in rather larger cubes than those we would recognize today, taken to the Ice house and packed with straw as insulation. How it worked I don’t know, but it is said the ice remained frozen for many months.
This one is to be found in woodland on the Sherborne Estate in Gloucestershire, (National Trust property), and is easy to miss on your walk around the grounds if you are not expecting it.
Graham Findlay Watercolours 