Sunday 25 January 2009

Autumn Leaf


I like autumn leaves and each time I go for a walk I collect a few. With so many to choose from, what influences my choices? Sometimes it is the curling shape that attracts me to pick it up, sometimes it is the colours or patterns or the way the stem bends. I like to find unusual leaves, skeleton leaves or the dock leaf eaten by beetles and then resembles a piece of lace.
I see images that I want to capture in my drawings. Even if I do not actually do the drawing of the collected leaf it was not wasted, because I would just look, study the shapes, the colours, the tiny details and store it in my memory. Sometimes just looking is enough, seeing the object and closely observing, learning and understanding something about that leaf or shell or acorn or feather or whatever.
They are all different, all unique, with their different shapes, sizes, colours and patterns. That is what I love about natural objects, so much to see, so much to inspire, the same but different. There is such beauty in these simple objects.
This sycamore leaf was collected in Autumn, the colours were changing to softer greens and orche yellows. The detail of the small brown cuts and tears, bruised and fragile after falling from the tree, and tossed in the wind. Gradually this leaf will become more and more damaged, eventually becoming small fragments of dust. So in the drawing I capture a moment in time.
It is worked in Derwent coloursoft pencils, on A3 sized paper.

9 comments:

Anita said...

This is GORGEOUS! I clicked on the image to see the picture larger - just exquisite! In small it looks rather like lace - larger you get all that detail of the curled edges of the leaf. Wonderful!

Michelle Palmer said...

Beautiful.
Just beautiful.
Your Clementine is a treasure, too~
The detail you tuck in every image amazes me!
Wishing you all the best!
Michelle

Liz said...

The detail in your drawings is awesome !!

Acornmoon said...

Yet another treasure worthy of Leonardo!

ellie said...

Beautiful, so delicate. How long does such a study take you ? You are SO clever. Best wishes, Ellie

Mary Timme said...

It just looks wonderful, crackly almost, but not quite and just right! Wonderful!

Pondside said...

I've had a nice visit around - all the beautiful drawings, and the video clip.
I'm so glad that I dropped over.

computerarte said...

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Kathy said...

So lovely--your colors are perfect--looks like you could pick it up off the paper~~