Old Autumn Sycamores

As fall spreads over the land, a chill breeze starts to turn the leaves to fiery colors and the grass to dried earth tones. Here, we see a pair of old sycamores at the edge of a scrubby forest. These ancient guardians have been here far longer than the young trees around them, and they face yet another coming winter stoically. Low light plays across their gnarled, pale trunks, and their leaves glow with copper colors before blowing away in the cold wind.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Rocky Autumn Foothills

 
When we think of autumn, the most common images that come to mind are the fiery colors of New England or the golden aspens in the high elevations of the west. This painting explores a different region. Here, we see the cottonwood trees in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains as they turn yellow in the chill autumn air. Every tree is precious here, for dry grasslands are the norm, and the change of seasons is always beautiful even in unexpected places. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Fall Sycamore Thicket

As autumn color winds down, we go for a walk in the woods while there's still sun remaining. A mix of sycamores, both old and young, tower overhead, their leaves turning to crumpled bronze as they fall from the trees. Low light bathes the mottled bark; winter is when sycamores are at their finest. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Maple Lake in Fall

Autumn has finally arrived here in Maryland with falling temperatures and leaves of changing colors. Here, we wander northward, where the chill air has already turned the maple leaves to warm fire that contrasts with the cold waters of a large lake. The low sun stretches across this scene of bright colors in the cold air.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Abstract Autumn in a Pond

We've only begun the autumn season here in central Maryland, with the first trees turning hints of color and the temperatures finally becoming more seasonable. A month from now, colorful and fading leaves will float in our rivers and ponds like confetti tossed from summer's party. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Bay Breeze in Fall

On the last warm day of fall, we watch a cold wind blow the drying leaves from old trees by the Chesapeake Bay. The ground is already covered in crisp leaves as the low sun casts long shadows. Soon, the winter cold will set in, but that won't spoil this peaceful afternoon.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Rainy Autumn Stream

Autumn around here often brings cold rains as the season passes and summer fades to a memory. In a soggy clearing next to a wide stream, we watch the fiery autumn leaves rustle in the cold drizzle on a gloomy fall day.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Foggy Autumn Dawn

Dawn stretches across an old forest in autumn, piercing the fog and lighting the mist beyond. In the cool air, we see the fiery leaves illuminated by the rising sun.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17" 

November Gloom

November is a gloomy time of year in the Mid-Atlantic region - daylight savings time ends, making the days feel shorter, and fall color peaks early in the month and quickly fades to browns and greys. Cold weather blows in, erasing the gentle temperatures of autumn, and clouds block out what little sunlight that remains. This painting was inspired by a walk around a local lake with friends this weekend. We see the last sparks of autumn color as the sun swings low behind the trees and clouds on a cold and dreary day.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Lake Elkhorn in Fall

Lake Elkhorn is one of the better-known man-made lakes in central Maryland, and it has a nice walking path around it, as well as connected paths that lead off into the woods. This painting is inspired by a later afternoon view from earlier this weekend, where the fall color and low-angle light mixed beneath blue skies for a great fall scene.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Autumn Ignition

An oddity of autumn is that the fiery colors - the ignition of reds, golds, and oranges in the leaves - is caused not by light and heat, but by the opposite. As the sun swings lower and the weather cools to proper fall temperatures, we look ahead a month to when the autumn leaves will be at their peak here on the east coast of the US. Look up into the towering trees and enjoy blazing colors against a clearing blue sky.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Reflecting on Autumn

Along the shores of a slow-moving stream, fiery leaves of autumn glow on the trees on a clear, cool day. Their colors reflect in the water as the leaves fall like sparks, each slowly extinguished. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Untamed Wilds

In the rolling mountains and wild forests, a cool autumn breezes whips through the trees. Limbs creak with age, and leaves are tossed on the wind, each a spark of fiery color that floats through the air. This painting was inspired by a mix of things, including fall in the mountains of the eastern United States to the artwork on an old Magic card by the same title as this painting. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Corn Maze Adventure

An autumn tradition in much of the eastern US (and probably anywhere with cornfields) is the corn maze. These mazes can take many forms, from simple ones for young kids and their parents, to complex patterns that change every year with hidden secrets within the maze. Either way, they are a great opportunity to get some exercise while walking amid the glowing, golden corn under the blue skies of early autumn. 

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Autumn Aspen Climb

Aspen trees are a symbol of the mountain west in America; these beautiful pioneer trees form massive groves across middle elevations and cooler climates. The root systems can live for centuries, and they turn a distinctive golden color in the fall. Aspens are also rather challenging to paint. Their bright golden leaves risk disappearing against the sky, hence the need for strong blues and darker mountains, and the pale bark of the trees offers little contrast against the yellow foliage. Finally, the bark patterns are distinctive and the technically white bark really reflects colors around it and should never be painted stark white. In all, they are beautiful, symbolic, and tough trees to paint well; I hope this painting has captured their majesty accurately.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Autumn Cinders

This isn't the prettiest or happiest of paintings, but not everything in life is beautiful, as we all know. This painting is one of quiet persistence; a scattered few maple trees turning their usual crimson colors, as they do every year. Despite the endless rain and clouds, amid the mud and brown-leaved trees everywhere, these few cinders spark and glow, reminding us of better times and the endless cycles of nature. I know it has been a rough year for many people, and for everyone who needs a sunnier tomorrow, I hope it arrives soon.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Trail Ridge Road Aspens in Fall

As part of the solar eclipse trip I went on back in August, our tour group also got to spend a day in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was an amazing experience, particularly since I had never really seen large mountains before. As we rode the tour bus up Trail Ridge Road, aspen trees were everywhere at the middle elevations. Higher up, they faded away and were replaced with an ever-shrinking evergreen forest, which finally turned to tundra at the treeline. Here, we see the aspen groves, growing in little clumps as they do, in fall.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17" (framed)

Autumn's last shadows

The end of autumn is a sad time of the year, at least for me. The days continue to dwindle until the sun is rarely seen, cool breezes turn to bitter chill, and the trees are stripped bare and lifeless. This weekend brought the inevitable change and the annual sense of loss; almost two full days of strong winds tore away the last of the fall leaves, ending their beauty, and brought in winter's first frigid breath. This painting reminds us of happier times only a few weeks ago, where the low sun still illuminated the beautiful foliage and it was warm enough outside to enjoy a good hike in the woods.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Flooded Fall Stream

It's been a rough year for flooding on the East Coast of the US; A few weeks ago, hurricane Matthew spread torrential rain through the southeast coastal regions, while here in central Maryland, flash flooding in the summer severely damaged most of the historic region of Ellicott City. Here, we see the fall colors begin to spread through the woods, as flood toppled trees are illuminated against the low sun.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17" (SOLD)

Autumn touches Skyline Drive

At the end of August, I went on a business trip to Charlottesville, Virginia to teach an engineering class. On the way back, I stopped off at Skyline Caverns and Skyline Drive. It was beautiful sight, looking out across the rolling mountains and valleys; I hadn't been there in over a decade, so it was well worth the trip. Here, we see Skyline Drive as the first brush of autumn passes over it, turning the vines, shrubs, and trees red, orange, and gold.

Acrylic painting; 14" x 17"