You may have noticed the image of an autumn tree used throughout the layout of my blog. It is named "Beneath an Autumn Tree". It is 18" X 24”, painted with acrylic on stretched canvas. This painting is listed in my online shop at http://www.Touch2112.etsy.com. Recently I have been getting a good number of views on this painting. Last night there were over four hundred views! The number of hearts on the item and on my shop doubled! I was so thrilled, I just had to share. In response to its popularity I wanted to write about the painting so that everyone would understand why I painted it.
Several months ago I was getting a bit homesick as I usually do this time of year. Since I Live in the desert everything looks the same all year round. I love the sun and the lack of snow. However fall was always my favorite season growing up. I enjoyed everything about it, the cool weather, Halloween, fresh apple cider and pumpkin picking. Most of all I loved the colors of foliage in New England. Each tree and leaf had its own combination of reds, yellows browns and greens. There were just so many colors.
As an artist I would paint it trying to capture its essence. That wonderful feeling I would get in the fall. I could never quite capture it though. I would come close a couple times but I could never produce bright vibrant mix of colors that I saw. Eventually I realized that it was because of several things. First of all I was a poor college student using paints that weren't exactly high quality. My motto usually is “It isn't about what you’re using; it's how you use it". It’s too bad it didn't apply in this case. The paint I was using was not very high in pigment and had a lot of "filler". Lots of filler equals duller colors. My second problem was that I was using too many vibrant colors and not enough browns and greens. The earthy tones of the darker more natural colors brought out brighter colors.
Several months before I painted "Beneath an Autumn Tree" I thought of a new way of painting. This method of painting would make colors appear brighter and was a whole new approach to painting. I call it the "Touch Technique". What is it exactly u ask? Sorry I can’t tell you the process behind it yet, I am still perfecting it. "Beneath an Autumn Tree" was the first painting I created using the "Touch Technique" and the results were more than I ever expected. The color was brighter, more vibrant and I finally captured that essence of Autumn I tried to achieve previously. Pictures do not do the painting justice. In person you actually feel like you are under a tree in autumn. My fiancée told me that he will be sad to see it go. He has become quite attached to it and I will be sad to see it go myself. It is the first of many "Touch Technique Paintings" and I am confident it will only be a matter of time before it becomes popular on a large scale. I love this painting and I hope you will see that when you look at it and fall in love with it too!
