Circles of watercolor paint represent colors found in an autumn landscape. The paper below it is filled with test color swatches.
Autumn is touted as a season of beautiful coloration due to leaves undergoing a transformation from green to orange, red, purple, yellow and such. These flamboyant colors are the result of the loss of chlorophyll, a pigment that gives leaves their green color and is dependent on lots of sunlight.
As I eyed my colorful surroundings, I made a color palette of an autumn landscape using watercolor paint. Most of the leaves remained on the trees. The hickory tree leaves were bright yellow. The oak tree leaves were turning into a vibrant red. On the ground, where the fallen leaves were brownish and orangish, the undersides had a purple coloration.
None of the colors I used for the palette came straight from the tube. The red and yellow both needed some orange. The blue sky needed a tiny drop of purple. The green oak leaves and the green pine needles differ from each other in that the pine needles had a cooler tone and called for more blue whereas the oak leaves were warmer and called for more orange. I also included a rich brown in the palette to represent the shadows of tree bark.
The landscape will continue to offer new color palettes as autumn progresses. New palettes will come about even with lighting and weather changes. As if it were a painting itself, the landscape is forever a work in progress with paint that never quite dries.