The Other Side

The Other Side
15" x 11"
Watercolour

The leaves were so brilliant, intense. I collected fist-fulls. Carefully I placed them in between sheets of wax paper and dumped a bunch of phone books on top. Someone told me they would turn brown. I refused to believe, after all, they had kept their colour before. Just in case, I worked another watercolour and took a bunch of pictures. I suspected I knew the truth. My intention is to use these lovely masterpieces in a collection of abstract paintings, another series just begun. In the meantime I enjoyed my cozy view of the very soggy landscape outside wondering if the boats moored and beached on the other side of the lake were used often. Once I was home I carefully unpacked my treasures and to my dismay the yellow had begun to disappear. The red and the multicolours remained, not quite a brilliant as before. I do have a solution however. Necessity is the mother of invention and yellow is really essential to my composition. Brown will do too, red, purple, green and anything in between. Yellow comes in an artificial form carefully shaped and coloured. Tissue paper leaves will peek out here and there accenting patterns and enhancing rhythms. Next year I will select a few bright yellow real ones and seal them in acrylic. Perhaps it is the air that disagrees with the longevity of hue. Like canning, the sooner the better.