This year, autumn has been a completely new experience for me.  Having never experienced a full autumn outside of my home in northeast Florida ( short trips north don’t really count ), one of the things I was most looking forward to this year was enjoying a cool and brightly colored Fall.  And Southern Oregon did not disappoint!

For me, there is just something about this autumnal time of year that makes the natural world more evident and magical.  Things slow down, trees and animals prepare for the long winter ahead.  Blazing sun is replaced with fog and clouds, making the amber colored leaves that much more striking.  California artist Susan Goldsmith captures the essence of the natural beauty of autumn in her mixed media work.  I want to buy one so that I can gaze at it in the middle of summer, dreaming of the return of cool days and warm colors.

In her work, Susan uses digital photographic prints as the base layer of her paintings, applying them to the surface then enhancing them with paints and/or pastels, so that the resulting effect is not one of merely an embellished photograph, but rather the impressionistic reinterpretation of the original composition.

What the viewer is left with is a lovely sense of atmospheric abstraction, light and mood, that bursting forth of vibrant color against grey skies which is so characteristic of autumn.

I first caught glimpse of Susan’s work at Davis & Cline in Ashland, OR, but have sense discovered her connection to another favorite gallery resource, Lanoue Fine Art in Boston.  Of course, you can also see her work on her own website.

Featured image is Brandy Creek I, silver leaf with pigment print, oil, oil pastel and resin on panel, 61.5×21.5 ( overall size ).  Images are via Susan Goldsmith’s representing galleries, as noted.