An Autumn Glade for the Autumn Glade

Well, I named this blog "The Autumn Glade" since I love the woods, particularly in autumn. Then, I realized I didn't actually have any really good paintings of a clearing in a forest in autumn! That lead to my latest painting, which is of an open area in an mostly oak forest near a hilltop somewhere in the mountains (probably the Smoky Mountains or Blueridge Mountains.)

It was an interesting challenge to add enough color to the autumn leaves without making them look fake and over saturated. I particularly like how well the depth regression turned out in this painting - there are multiple "layers" in the painting of landscape features, each further away from the viewer. The hole in the treeline leading to the far-away clouds and mountains worked out well; the clouds are on the colorful side, but I find that I like to paint them with stronger colors to add more depth and interest to them vs. "chalky white clouds."

Acrylic Painting 14" x 17"

Return from Istanbul!

The last week of May, my family and I visited Istanbul, Turkey for a wonderful vacation amid a city full of history and culture. My brother-in-law is from this city, and he and my sister were kind enough to take care of the details for the trip. Amid the excellent food and amazing sights, I also was able to get some photographs that would make great ideas for paintings.

This painting is based upon a sunset over the Bosphorus that we saw from the Asian side (Kadikoy region) early in the week. We went on a relaxing ferry tour of the Bosphorus before getting off on the Asian side of Istanbul to get dinner at a restaurant that serves a variety of authentic Turkish food (more than just kabobs!) While there, we picked up some Turkish Delight candy for our friends and family back in America, and then, as the sun set, we headed back to the water to catch a ferry back.

In this painting, I captured the last glow of light as the sun set behind the Hagia Sofia on the other side of the Bosphorus straight. Another ferry boat, its lights on for the evening, quietly passes by in the growing shadows.

"Istanbul: Sunset on the Bosphorus" Acrylic Painting, 14" x 17" (framed, SOLD)