The Crepe Myrtles are Saying It's Fall

Fall is my favorite season! Every year, I spend August's sweltering days anticipating the cool of autumn. When September arrives, I begin watching the trees. While driving, I've noticed that certain trees are shifting to yellow as if sighing that they are just too hot and tired to maintain their summer green. In my own yard, I heed the crepe myrtles - my watchers on the wall, ready to signal the change to come. Yellow-tinged leaf tips whisper secrets of shorter days and cool breezes. Each day, golden hues seep further along and spread the word. Finally, the leaf blushes, sounding the red alert before it fades into brown and falls silently to the path below.

Fascinated by this ritual, I plucked a few leaves and brought them into the studio to sketch. A younger me might have stood on the rocky garden path, balancing a sketchbook, drawing pencil, kneaded eraser, and a dozen or so coloring pencils as I drew them still on the tree. The older and wiser me preferred my comfy chair and air conditioning, only to face the frustrating task of preventing Kitty Mau from tasting, caressing, and stealing the leaves! Upon realizing the battle was futile, I went to fetch leaves just for her. She rubbed them, licked them, and promptly batted them off the table and onto the floor. She liked my leaves better. So much for wisdom on my part. I resorted to placing the canned air, her mortal enemy, next to the leaves. Truce achieved. 

Colored pencils are a new medium to me. I purchased a set of Prismacolor Verithins recently and have enjoyed playing with them. They are very different from chalk, conte, or oil pastels - all of which are old friends of mine. I need to study a few pencil techniques and practice. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the drawing. I love the different stages of the color shifts in the leaves. I couldn't do it justice. Still, it's wonderful to be making art again - doing it just for the pure joy of bringing something from nothing. No pressure, no deadlines, no expectations. Simply bliss.

On another note, you may have noticed that my blog got a makeover. I've been wanting to come back to it with a fresh start, so voilà! The cloudy background is a digital painting on a canvas texture. A bit of a rushed job, not wanting to wait for paint to dry, but I think it's rather fun.

So, I rejoice in the new season, comforted by the surety of its coming. 

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. ~ Gen 8:22


Lord, I thank you for autumn, the time of harvest, and for mild weather to relish before the biting winter comes. Thank you for establishing the routine and rotation of seasons as a continual reminder of your steadfastness and eternal stewardship over the earth. I praise you in every season and revel in your unending love!