A small sketch painted before today’s stormy weather. Not many people about. The ground is firm in some places but squelchy in others. It was too cold to hang around for long, so I made a quick pencil sketch, made some notes and headed for home. I saw a couple just like this, although not in the same place, so I thought I’d put them in anyway.

With so much cold and wet around recently, most sketching has been done indoors. Last weekend we resorted to bringing the seasonal decorations out of storage with the idea of dressing the tree. We haven’t got very far yet. For me, teaming a little poinsettia with a decorative snowman was too much of a distraction and provided a lot of fun !

We had a heavy frost one day last week, which although cold, was beautiful to behold. The trees behind the houses and gardens across the road were thick with frost and hanging with jewels. The hedges were covered in thick ropes of lace, which on closer inspection turned out to be cobwebs as you’ve never seen them before. Mother Nature proving again that she is a better artist than any of us!

An Autumnal scene of a little girl and her Grandmother walking along a lane strewn with fallen leaves as Summer recedes and Winter seems to be not far away.

Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s house, painted after a recent visit to the wonderful Lake District.

I didn’t have far to go to find this tree as it is just across the road. I thought I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere as we have had severe weather warnings for the week end, but the worst of it seemed to travel along the south coast and up the eastern side of the country, skirting around us, so we were lucky. Here we are, a week into November and we have had a lovely sunny day. Windy, yes, but not extreme. I thought I would make the most of it while the leaves are still on the tree and glowing in the sun – they might not be there for much longer.

I did another version of the rose hips in the front garden today before the next ‘named’ storm hits us. I’m not sure if it’s finished, I think I could put a few more darks in. I’ll keep it on the easel for now and have another look at it later.

The best of Summer may be over in the garden, petals mostly gone, except for Cosmos, as we haven’t had a heavy frost yet, and the leaves are falling, although the larger trees surrounding us are going their Autumn thing, providing us with a display of yellow, orange and reds, and I look forward to the best which is yet to come. Here in the garden, the focus is changing from the soft swathes of flowers to the more structural stems of Sunflowers with their huge heads of seeds, Teasels and, closer to the ground, Roses, which have beautiful coloured hips. A quick note in a sketchbook is a reminder to attempt a different version before they disappear.

Freshly fallen from the trees, Autumn leaves are full of glorious colour combinations, often of such intensity it takes ones breath away. A wonderous tapestry upon the ground. Like all beauty it is quick to fade, and soon becomes colourless and a hazard to the elderly and unwary.. It will be a long time before we are able to admire their jewel-like qualities again, but the memories will linger for a lifetime.

The days of pumpkins, gourds and squashes are with us again, and I look forward to them every year. I can never resist their shapes and exuberant colours. Plus they last long enough to be able to paint a number of variations.