Framed oil painting

14 x 18 (image size) oil on linen

Autumn Light on the Marsh ~ Transitions of color!

Like the fall colors of New England signal a change of season, so do the Lowcountry marshes change color when colder weather arrives. Vibrant greens transition into lighter shades of green, then a golden color (yellow when struck by sunlight), and eventually a light brown umber. In my painting Autumn Light on the Marsh rays of late day sunshine hit the tall pines in the distance and the amber grasses as the shallow water trickles into the foreground.

Eventually all the spartina grasses become brown, but for now they are going through their cycle of color. It mesmerizes me when I look over an expansive marsh with various changing colors, especially when there is a dramatic sky and sunlight warming up the dormant grasses making them pop.

At low-tide this particular marsh dries up in the foreground and the waterways become a winding earthen path, unveiling empty shells and crustaceans that symbolize a fertile ecosystem. As the water ebbs and flows, so does the overall balance of water to grass. At high-tide the entire foreground would be covered by water.

With each passing hour the tides alter the appearance of the marsh, just as the movement and height of the sun affects the tones in the landscape. It is ever changing.