This time of year is one of my favorite times. Starting in early Fall when the leaves begin to change and ending when the Winter snow has started to melt away, there are so many things that can put a designer in a creative mood. Even the bright colors or the fresh unmarred snow. The changes of the environment from the beginning of Autumn to the beginning of Winter are incredibly inspiring.
This time of year is one of my favorite times. Starting in early Fall when the leaves begin to change and ending when the Winter snow has started to melt away, there are so many things that can put a designer in a creative mood. Even the bright colors or the fresh unmarred snow. The changes of the environment from the beginning of Autumn to the beginning of Winter are incredibly inspiring.
As I drive home from work everyday on a mountain road in north-east Pennsylvania, I get to experience a change of scenery unlike any other I’ve ever scene. Each day is something new. The bright green leaves at the end of summer start yellowing and the sun starts finding a way to diffuse those colors onto everything around. And every trip down this road reveals more of the warm combinations of red and orange that distinguish the Autumn landscape from the other times of the year.
Yet my favorite part of this season is not the colors or the scenery, it is the drive through it. It is blasting through all of the wonderfully colored leaves as they float through the air onto the open road. It is kicking up the fallen in my draft as I pass. It is all of the playful things that a child should be amused with, not an adult (but I must admit that I am inspired by the simple things). And as the last leaves reach the ground and the trees become barren and thinned, it is not the end of the inspiration nor the end of the change.
The lack of foilage at the end of Autumn makes the mountain bare and the rock formations visible. Again I find myself drawn to simple things like the patterned layers on the cliffside and the boulders that have tumbled down from above, the textures of the tree bark, and the contrast between the parallel tree trunks and the random placement of fallen branches. These all make me want to draw, paint, and recreate the way that the light bounces off the landscape around me.
That light isn’t bounced any more than when a fresh snow has fallen and covered the ground. The crisp clean plane is the opposite of the rough textures that were previous. Every object gets its covering and its shape becomes a mystery as the snow mounds above it. The tree limbs are thickened again but as white icy branches; like icing on a cupcake. And again the drive, even the walk, through a heavy snow shower brings a peace to my soul that sparks creativity every time.
One Response
Nice post David, I really had fun reading it. Keep up the good work.