Painting Process: Fall with the Grandkids

I recently was able to create a painting for a client (my inlaws) and I wanted to share a little of my process here.

Crop of final painting

This all started fall of 2024. The commission was to be of a beloved Purple Ash tree in a front yard in its full autumn glory. I started off this project by going to the house and painting the tree from different angles.

Study 1

One of the beautiful things about these Ash trees is their shifting color. from the front the tree was yellow, from the back and side, it is red.

Study 2

Their color shifting fall colors create a sense of light coming from the inside.

Study 3

The yellow leaves showing through the red made for a challenging time painting the light on the tree.

I was never able to get a study of the tree in the sunlight before all the leaves fell off, so I found another Ash tree and did another study. While I was painting, some kids came out to play in the leaves and their mom let me add them to my painting. when my mother in law saw this study, she was enamored by the idea and decided she wanted her grandkids included in hers.

Study 4

Ash tree with the neighbor kids

My process at this point just consisted of taking all of the studies and photos I had taken and combining them into the larger piece. I created a color study on Procreate first to plan my final composition and color plan. I also took reference photos of the grandkids to add to the color study.

Color study from Procreate

The first thing I needed to do was cover the white, get the values down, and refine until I was ready to start in with more detail.

Beginning to cover the canvas. I honestly forgot to take many progress shots. This was the only one!

A lot of refining, reworking, and editing came after that. I changed the shape of the tree to something that was less symmetrical and more interesting to look at. Painting the girls in front was a piece of cake after all the changes I made to the tree.

Different shapes for the tree, done on Procreate on my iPad. I actually ended up choosing none of them. But the process helped me work through what was bothering me about the shape.

Still unsatisfied with the shape of the tree, everything else was close to being finished.

After finally settling on a shape and value pattern that I liked, I added a few more refining details, like color and detail in the fallen leaves, shadows and shapes in the neighbor’s yard, and minor details on the girls.I was ready to call it done!

Final image of the painting in its current state.

Honestly, knowing when to be done is 90% of the battle when finishing a painting. Are there things I wish i could still work on? Yes. Are there details I wish I could do better? Also yes. But having a client with a deadline is one of the great things about a commission. It gives me a stopping place, and I can make my peace with the work I have put in. I am proud of this painting, I enjoyed the process and feel proud of the finished product.

If you would like to commission a painting from me, if you have a favorite place or person you would like to capture in paint and time in a unique way, just your own, click here and fill out the form! I’d love to work with you.