LEAVES

I'm enthralled with the leaves this fall and can't seem to get enough of them. Each time we go for a walk, I pick up a few more. I've been keeping some of them in a bag in the refrigerator and they keep pretty well. My husband, however, thought he was reaching for salad ingredients and was a bit disappointed to find maple leaves instead of butter lettuce.

These are pretty much like the leaves in the last post, but this time I added shadows.

The non-refrigerated leaves are starting to curl up.

Yesterday, the Portland Urban Sketchers went to the Japanese Gardens to sketch. The leaves, along with the sketchers were very refrigerated and the colors were spectacular. With frozen fingers and so much glorious scenery all around, I was a bit overwhelmed and went mostly for an impression of the landscape. I would need some extra intense pigments to get anywhere near the actual colors.

There were dozens of people taking photos yesterday and this woman was in my line of sight for quite awhile. Of course, soon after I decided to include her, she walked away, so I had to crop my picture at waist level. I tried to get my friend, Katharine, to model for me, but she was involved in her own sketch.

Here are a couple more scenes that I'd like to draw next time I go to the Japanese Gardens. I love those curly branches and the contrast of dark and light.

If you look closely, you may see some very cold Koi.