Luminous Red Maple Leaf is a red autumn maple leaf bathed in sunlight. It is full of colour, with a large, bright yellow patch of sun, while the textured background suggests wind and rain.

I painted it after a sunny fall afternoon spent photographing colourful leaves. You can see some of those photographs in the gallery below. The painting is not based on a single leaf, but on a blend of many. Maybe that’s why I almost gave up halfway through; the painting seemed to insist on taking shape in its own way.

luminous • luminescent • vivid • illuminated • aglow • sunbathed
• agleam • blazing • candescent • fiery • flaming

At that point, I had already developed the sunlit area and the main structure of the leaf, so I turned my attention to the background. I added more green, introduced lines to suggest wind, and experimented with drops of alcohol to create additional texture. Finally, I completed the leaf veins with darker lines and small white highlights.

The painting now hangs in our entryway, where it greets visitors with a bright and cheerful welcome. I am very glad I persisted and finished it.