Muted Grove, 2014 – Michaela Harlow – Pastel on Coldpress, Deckle-Edge Paper, 20″ x 16″

Yesterday’s torrential rain and wind knocked down a great deal of foliage, leaving tree trunks more exposed again. It’s startling to see these bare silhouettes after months of green canopy. Still, there’s plenty of autumn color left —even at this high terrain— particularly in the forest understory. Beech trees are beginning to turn bittersweet orange and the poplar are brilliant gold. Western Massachusetts seems to be at peak foliage, and the back roads from Gill to Halifax are a kalidoscope of violet, rust, ochre, gold, bittersweet and red. I must have stopped more than a dozen times on my drive north this morning to appreciate the bold and more subtle colors, muted by morning fog.

 A quick snap to show the deckle edge on these new, 20″ x 16″ pieces

 An in-progress shot, after I remove my working tape, and add lighter layers in

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