Once the leaves start to change colour there is no stopping them and soon there will be more on the ground than those left clinging to the branches above, but there is beauty in all seasons and a lot more still to come.
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Chestnuts are not the only fruits –
Chestnuts are not the only fruits of Autumn. At this time of year Pumpkins and Squashes start appearing in shops and stalls in increasingly large numbers. They have certainly caught on in a big way on this side of the Atlantic in recent years and are firm favourites to include in a painting. Here I used various mixes of lemon yellow, cadmium scarlet and permanent magenta
In-between days
We are currently having that tug-of-war between the seasons with some days wild and wet, proclaiming that Autumn is asserting its superiority, and others, mild and sunny suggesting that Summer has not yet quite deserted us.
The wild and wet days knock down the Horse Chestnuts from the trees together with some small branches. Some of the fruits split upon hitting the ground giving us a glimpse of a startling white interior and a flash of mahogany of the concealed nut.
All too quickly the bright colours become dull and one has to be quick to grab the chance of a sketch. This was painted on Saunders Waterford 140lb Hot Press.
“Conkering” with Watercolour
Horse Chestnuts, or “conkers” are always a welcome sight and I look forward to painting them at this time of year as they are so evocative of the change in seasons. You would think that they would all be the same size and shape, but I have yet to see two identical.
For the body of the chestnuts I use combinations of Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Violet (either Winsor violet or a mixture of French Ultramarine and Permanent Alizarin Crimson). If the chestnut is still bright and shiny I use a brighter yellow. As for the bits on top I make very light washes of mostly the same colours and let them mix together when wet and then go back in later with a few darker washes.
At one time, children used to drill a hole through them and attach them to a piece of string and then bash them against each other’s to see whose Chestnut would “conker”the rest. I tried to keep some of mine in good condition as I regarded them more as lucky mascots rather than weapons.
Street Signage
As this is on the main road into and out of the village, I must have driven passed or into it countless times without thinking about it or considering what was there. Which is probably just as well as the road is busy enough with cars, coaches, pedestrians and a corner just ahead of this scene. There is already quite enough to think about as it is.
Which is why, I expect, it was when I was walking by the other day that the different shapes of the signage caught my eye and made me consider them as a possible painting. From a sketching point of view there is a lot of interest here. As a driver the signage can be annoying as it sometimes blocks the view of oncoming traffic.
Approach through Lansdowne
Having had a little time off from painting recently, I felt a little rusty and so painted this view of the River Windrush as it meanders it’s way towards the village from a hastily scribbled sketch in my studio.
The trees are only just beginning to hint of Autumn if you look closely, so there is still a lot of green around, which is always a challenge. At the moment I mostly tend to use Winsor & Newton New Gamboge (yellow) and French Ultramarine in various proportions, and for the darker areas use more of the blue with a touch of Winsor Violet.
Painted on Saunders Waterford 140lb NOT (cold press) paper 11 x 15″
Coffee shop moments
I’m really not very good at figures but it’s something I always like to try when sitting for a few moments in a certain coffee shop or similar.
Usually I take the easy option and sketch a figure from behind so I don’t get hung up about facial features or worry about getting a likeness. For me the fun is to try and capture a moment and create a memory, and if I can include a little of the surroundings, so much the better.
Here I drew with a Zig millennium fibre tip pen and then washed in some Winsor and Newton Paynes Grey watercolour, but you could achieve the same effect with water soluble ink and a damp brush.
There is the added excitement of not being sure whether the figure will still be there when you next look up from your sketchbook or whether you have to finish it from memory !
The wrong field
A favourite spot on a regular walk this morning when all was quiet except for an anxious cow who had somehow absentmindedly wandered quite a way into the wrong field before realizing that she was cut off from the rest of her family.
I was a little worried that she was becoming concerned as she kept calling out to the others as she tried to work out how to reach them. I hung back as she pondered a footpath gate made with humans rather than bovines in mind. Luckily she continued around the edge of the field until she found an opening large enough for her to walk through, which must have been the way she came to be there in the first place.
Once she had the others in her sights she gave a little jump and then trotted off to join them, tail swishing, relief evident in her face.
I was left to contemplate the rose hips and sloes in the hedgerows and was cheered to see the blackberries are turning dark and quite plump, but not quite ripe yet in this little patch, but it won’t be long.
Not quite the end of Summer
The Meteorological Office tell us ( a little too eagerly I feel) that as far as they are concerned the first of September is the end of Summer.
Well, excuse me, but I think the end of Summer will be whenever Nature decides. There is still a lot of this Summer to be enjoyed before we consign it to the history books and we should not wish it, or our lives, away any faster than they already are by our twenty-first century thinking.
Although I am looking forward to Autumn and all that it brings, I am happy to wait a few more weeks and enjoy a more gradual changeover of seasons.
The best time of day
I love that time in the morning just before the day gets going, before it becomes too hot, before it becomes too busy, while all is still calm, while all is quiet. The day holds an air of expectation. Anything can happen, it is all before us.
The people who are up and about are still relaxed. The pressures of modern life have yet to encroach upon their time. It is a moment to savour.
Do you have a favourite time of day?
Graham Findlay Watercolours 