Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower ~ Albert Camus
When we arrived at our hotel in Connecticut I opened the car door and there on the ground was this most gorgeous leaf – right there at my feet. Well I took that as a sign that we were in for a show stopping trip and what a show it was ~
CT Fall Leaf an oil pastel (4.5 x 7) was painted on yellow ochre Mi-Tientes paper. The vibrancy of the leaf was developed by using pure OP colors and not blending, and figured that the dark background (black, magenta, virdian and indigo) would set off the brilliance of the leaf. Albert Camus was so right, it really was a second Spring of dazzling color.
Thanks for checking in ~
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Oil Pastels by Mary 
Very nice piece there ^^ ..I do similar sizes at 5.5 x 8″ inch and also use similar colors, Sennelier oil pastels.. I like the dark tone on this one ^^
Nice to meet you Samuel – thank you for your nice comment! Always great to meet someone who enjoys working with oil pastels!
Gorgeous.
Thank you Elena – just a little remind of how beautiful the Fall can be in New England!
very vivid. Marvellous colors, bright and dark : beautiful contrast.
Thank you so much Dsaquarelles, glad you enjoyed the colors of Fall. Always a special time of the year to capture with oil pastels.
So strong, so beautiful…
robert
Appreciate it very much Robert, thank you!
What a beautiful oil pastel, Mary, the colour glows like fire against the darkness – such a simple design, and yet with such depth, and rendered with so much skill, not gesture out of place.
Thanks so much Cara for your generous comment and compliment on my Autumn Leaf. In my minds-eye I could see the leaf with a very dark background, this background gave it the darkness it needed to glow and brilliance I was looking for. It means a lot that you would mention this aspect of the work, thank you.
What a beautiful glow you have achieved Mary.
Thank you Gallivanta! I was after the glow, so your comment has made my day!
Gorgeous leaf Mary! I love the chewed side you so beautifully captured. I collect chewed leaves with random holes, press them, and then use them as templates when I need to create random markings. Whenever I try to make random splotches in my watercolors, they always end up looking regular. Using chewed leaves as a template makes for a perfect, imperfect marking. Does that make sense??? Anyway, I’ll blog on it one day…in the meantime…again, love the leaf.
Thank you so much for your generous thoughts and comment – and yes, it does make sense to use a chewed leaf as a template. This leaf was a wonderful find that was perfect for the brilliance of oil pastels. Hope you are having a wonderful Fall season.
Beautiful, Mary! Loved the quote and the fall is indeed a wonder of Mother Nature… 🙂
Loved reading your response Maniparna – thank you so much!
Welcome…:-)
I totally like the quote and your picture just confirms it. Wonderful! Thanks!
Thanks Cecilia!
Stunning art Mary. I have missed you!
Thanks so much Holly, means a lot. I’ve missed your writing and looking forward to seeing what you’ve been posting.
Thank you Mary, have a wonderful day!<3
Gosh, Mary, your Fall leaf is truly gorgeous, the wistful spirit of the season embodied, a leaf to hug in the heart. And I wonder at the tree it came from, one where chipmunks and blue jays might have felt at home maybe?
I love the Camus quote and funnily enough have recently written a short poem ending “Their autumn lives are summer bright”. My meaning was much the same.
My very best to you from North Wales,
Paul
Thank you Paul – there is something special that comes with the Fall season. Perhaps the colors, the smells or as you mentioned the little critters scurrying around preparing for the winter. It was a real treat for us to go back East and experience the colors of Fall this year. I really enjoyed your response to the painting.
Love your leaf, Mary – Camus was quite right…
Thanks so much Ann-Christine!
Lovely!
Thank you Kendall!!
Welcome, Mary!
This may be my favourite of all your works I’ve seen on here, Mary! Just warm and delicious!
What a wonderful compliment A! Thank you for your response to the painting. Hope you are well – thanks for stopping by it is great to see you.
You never disappoint. Those sorta subtle deep blues behind the black are just perfect. A wonderful piece of work. You have the hand of a goddess Mme Mary.
Great eye Heath for noticing the back blues! Thanks very much for your kind and generous comment means a lot.
Aglow and stunning, Mary
Thanks Derrick – always appreciated!
Ah, Mary, I love the warmth of this painting! 🙂
Thank you my friend, I love your response – yes, it’s the warmth that I wanted to capture. Have a wonderful Wednesday ~
Gosh, this fiery leaf is wonderful, and so radiant against its background! The touch of green at the end of its stem, echoed at the tip of the leaf, is such a small, perfect detail too. (I’d love to see this pic in the flesh so I could better see the background colours.) 😉
Thanks so much Rebecca, love your read on this and that you saw those little details like that small speck of green! Glad you enjoyed the painting ~
This is my favorite of all time
Thanks very much Ted – always appreciated!
🙂
so stunning in its vibrancy, the impact and power. wow!
Very cool Debi, thanks so much – you totally got what I was after with this painting.
hi Mary, you’re welcome!
Do dramatic in its simplicity. You have captured both the color and the luminance perfectly.
Thanks Audrey – love your description and response. Can you imagine this one little leaf outside my car door, it was a great find to work out with oil pastels.
Takes an artist to see the true wonder in it! 🙂
Thank you Audrey!!
WoW! A simple fall leaf is your second spring. I see it.
Thanks Resa – who would have thought of Fall as the second Spring? Spot-on, wouldn’t you say? Glad you enjoyed the painting was neat piece to work out.
You might want to post a link to these leaf articles on Verena Cave’s photo challenge https://festivalofleaves.wordpress.com/ Your pictures are lovely. 🙂 Check out my page of other photo challenges, too. http://wp.me/P7tP3I-gS
Thank you so much Marsha for your suggestion and comment, I really appreciate it. I’ll be over to check out your work, looking forward to it.
Thanks Mary! 🙂
Oh Mary, I really LOVE this piece. Such a beautiful vibrant color and is perfect with the black background. It has a wonderful transparency to it and to achieve that it requires skills which you posses. I totally love the quote and agree to it 100%, autumn is one of my favorite seasons and right now over here is just super beautiful to go out and about. Hope that you filling well and progressing on your recovery! Sending you much love and hugs!
Hi Eva, thank you so much – isn’t Fall the most awesome season? The beauty of what nature provides before all goes cold and quiet is spectacular. I’m hoping you are truly enjoying yourself and taking in the serene beauty in your walks. I’m feeling great and am at 100% – thank you for asking. Love from TX my friend!
Yes, I really do enjoy and soak in all that beauty as much as I can. Me and my camera.
Hugs and much love!
It’s lovely! Perfect art for fall, Mary 🙂
Hi Christy, thank you so much!
sembra una bellissima farfalla…non mi stupirei se cominciasse a volare
Such a beautiful comment, thank you so much. If it should take to the sky as a butterfly, we’ll celebrate it’s flight ~
I love that this is on a black background. The colours are so vibrant.
Camus is right – every leaf is a flower, and your piece is proof of that. 🙂
Thanks Ruth – the colors of leaves this time of year match the brightest of mums that I’ve seen around.
Wonderful, Mary.
Thanks Don – I really appreciate it!
What a dazzler, Mary. Looking back it seems you’ve been having fun. Hope you’re fully fit again?
Thanks so much Jo, especially for visiting – I’m feeling great again!
Lovely hues! It captures autumn perfectly.
Thanks Harrison, nice to meet you!!
Likewise!
This is gorgeous Mary! Thank you for the quote. I’ve never read this one and it’s given me a new way to consider the beauty of fall.
So cool Catherine! Thanks and looking forward to seeing your latest paintings!
Exquisite and exactly how I imagined it when I read that sentence!
You’ve made my day Sarah, thank you!!
Great piece
Thank you so much!!
GORGEOUS! (I’ve sent you an email about it.)
Thank you so much Cynthia – you are very generous my friend.
Beautiful. I was on a long fall-trip last week and had an amazing time.
Thanks Alok. Timing it just right for leaf season can give you the most amazing show of color – glad you had a great time.
Yes, we hit it at its peak.
Fantastic Mary! Gorgeous colors. You are inspired.
Thanks Susan – the scenery couldn’t have been any better!
Wow! You did a beautiful job, Mary!
Thanks Jill – couldn’t believe my good fortune when we got out of the car.
I love the quote and I absolutely love this image…it has huge impact in a very abstract/expressive way. Beautifully rendered….thank you Mary. Clearly you have been inspired…Janet:)
Thank you so much Janet, this was a quick piece and I’m looking forward to doing some more substantial painting. Have a wonderful day ~
Can’t wait to see them….