Enjoying Summer

Landscape sketch in watercolour / mixed media.

Contrasts - The Forest Floor

What attracted me to this spring scene

 was the lone sapling 

amongst the mature trees.

As I worked on the watercolour

I soon realized the true subject 

was the subtle interplay of colour,

 and light and shade

 on the forest floor.

Here the vibrant autumn leaves 

are piled deeply and luxuriantly

carpeting the ground.

The Simple Leaf as a Subject

There has been a lot of rain 

this spring and early summer

keeping the foliage lush and green.

There were some interesting compositions in the spring.

Here I enjoyed the textural contrast 

between the crispness of last years' maple leaves 

and the delicate freshness of the new growth.

By midsummer that early vigour 

is already giving way to decay.

We are all familiar of the glories of autumn.

Before the frost and blanketing winter snow

I love trees as a subject

 but have overlooked 

the infinite variety of leaves.

There's a saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees."

meaning you can't see the big picture for the minutia. 

But maybe you could  also say the opposite, 

"Sometimes  I can't see the the leaves for the trees."