October Mist

Oil on Board, 10 x 14 inches

This is another demo painting I did last year, just finished off today in the studio.  Autumn is the time of mists and mellow fruitfulness as John Keats said in his ode to Autumn.  

This was early morning, just before the sun broke through with the promise of a fine day, as can be seen by the hint of a blue sky on the right and the barely sunlit ochres of the distant tree.  Tones are the key to make this a successful painting, making sure the relative values become paler into the distance by adding a little more white and blue to the mixes.  The subtle variety of colours from rich greens to yellows, oranges, pinks and browns, make painting the water a joy, and always the fastest bit of the painting, which again makes it all the more enjoyable!