Bright Promises  Walnut Ink  & Watercolor on Paper

     The fall colors are quickly brightening up the hills and in the lowlands the always beautiful sumac is taking on deep burgundy, oranges and crimsons. The autumn spectacular is a welcome turn from the mud and broken branches we have been looking at for weeks. When the leaves fall off the trees they will cover up some of that mud.
     If you are out walking in the next few weeks, it's a good time to start looking closely at the twigs of various trees and shrubs. As the leaves fall off, the buds forming for next year will start to appear. They are tiny now, but hold everything needed for next year's leaves.
     Bright Promises is a close view of basswood buds. Their very red color makes a beautiful contrast with the browns of the old leaves and twigs, but you have to get close to appreciate all the color in those small buds. Later in the winter they begin to swell and are more visible. This painting is of the buds in March, at their peak of color.
     There are as many colors in the spring forest as in the fall, the colors are more muted but buds and flowers have a wide range of colors and are well worth noticing.

     You can see Bright Promises and all the other poems and paintings from The Old Road Walking Into Beauty at the Heider Center Gallery through October.
     Our reception is Thursday October 11th, from 6-7:30pm and we look forward to making some new friends in West Salem, so come over and enjoy the show.