Colors of Fall, Nature Journal, and Figure Dwg.

I am going to call this done. There isn't much tooth left on the paper anywhere so even if I wanted to make more changes my ability to do so is limited. Didn't come out quite like I expected. The old issue (for me) of a clear focal point again raises its head. I almost used a tan for a background color but decided to go with the turquoise instead. Ah well, I think I am done with this concept for a while anyway, though it has been interesting to work on. This is a bit larger then I usually work, 7 x 9 inches, on hot press water color paper, ink and colored pencils.

Below are a couple of Journal pages from a trip I made down to Massasoit State Park last week:

Drawings are from the top down: Tamarack leaves/needles, leaf from I think a Amur Honeysuckle bush, leaf from a Big Tooth Aspen, and a sketch of Running Ground Cedar, a type of club moss.

Massasoit has a pair of Tamarack trees that stand in a clearing near the parking areas for Lake Rico. This type of pine tree actually sheds it needles each fall. I had tentatively identified the trees from the pine cones I drew earlier this summer, but it took finding some newly sprouted needles for me to really verify it. This is not a tree I am very familiar with, so really couldn't believe my initial ID.  I hope to make a photo of them when the needles turn a golden brown. Wish me luck.

I had a hard time identifying the leaf from the Honeysuckle bush, and I am still not sure if I am correct. This bush has red berries which are slightly translucent, but not as translucent as some I have seen. I didn't find a photograph of the Honeysuckle berries on-line just descriptions so the more I think about it, the more I am convinced I have the wrong identification. Will just have to keep researching this leaf I guess.

The ground cedar was fun to draw. This is another of those low ground covering plants that are found in our local woods. The plant has sent up a spore stalk. It is a member of the club moss family, and as a moss has no flowers.

Below is my drawing from last night:

My only comment on this is that I am not quite sure that her folded leg reads correctly. Otherwise it came together fairly well, I only wish it was a bit larger. For some reason I was drawing small last night. I am using a ledger sized sheet of paper and this drawing would have fit on a 12 x 9 inch sheet. But by the time I realized what I was doing I was so far into the drawing that I didn't want to start over. Next week I need to remind myself to work larger.

Below is a photograph I made while visiting Massasoit State Park:

One thing I really noticed on my visit to the park last week was all of the dragonflies, there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of them on both sides of the roadway I was walking on. Mostly they were on the sunny side absorbing the sun as the day was a bit cool, but they were everywhere I looked. I only made a few photos of them, but above is one. The wings are almost invisible against the grass/ground, but believe me they are there. We will probably have a hard frost in the next week or two so this is probably my last dragonfly photograph for the year.