New England Fall Scene

This is the completed commissioned work to the below sketch. What you cannot see in this image, however, is the texture of the painting, especially in the leaves of the trees. Texture, layers, and brushstrokes are invaluable aspects which bring a painting to life, setting a painting apart from photographs or digital images, reminding us of the natural and imperfect human element.

Although this is a depiction of a New England fall scene, the creation of this piece conjured up memories of the three years I lived in Syracuse, New York, where I attended Syracuse University for my Master's degree and Juris Doctorate. While I was there, I frequented the numerous lakes during spring and fall. The northeastern United States is a beautiful place...

"Nothing so fair, so pure, and at the same time so large, as a lake, perchance, lies on the surface of the earth. Sky water. It needs no fence. Nations come and go without defiling it. It is a mirror which no stone can crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs; no storms, no dust, can dim its surface ever fresh; -- a mirror in which all impurity presented to it sinks, swept and dusted by the sun's hazy brush, -- this the light dust-cloth, -- which retains no breath that is breathed on it, but sends its own to float as clouds high above its surface, and be reflected in its bosom still."
- Henry David Thoreau

New England Fall, 18" x 24", oil on canvas.