Hiking on a sunny fall day, I came upon this maple leaf, caught in the crook of a tree, lit up by the afternoon sun. I love the transluscence of the leaf and the texture of the rough bark and the fungus on the tree. It was just waiting for me, perfectly posed and I was lucky enough to find it at just the right moment. A few minutes later, the light would have shifted away and the leaf would have been a dull red brown. As it was, it was lit up so brightly, it made me think of a stained glass window, with the veins as dark as the leading.

   This was at the end of a long walk through the Pioneer Mother's Memorial Forest in Paoli, IN. This is an old growth forest that has never been cut and has been preserved for hundreds of years. There are some immense trees there - much larger in circumfrence than typical Indiana trees. They have such a presence that you feel humbled walking among them. I went in expecting to take reference photos of these towering giants. I did, but it was this picture of a single leaf on a relatively small tree that I felt compelled to paint. On this day, less was more.