Sunday 10 January 2016

Colour from the Season - Monterey Pine Needle green

Inevitably seasons pass and everything gets a little older. Even the Monterey Pine in the Heddon Valley was looking the worse for wear when I visited it last week after weeks of wind and rain. It seemed to be leaning over even more than usual. I went after the storms especially to gather a few of its needles for a new design I'm working on. Even after the tail end of Storm Frank (?!) I had to scramble around the banks to find a few small branches as it doesn't give up its cones, or it would seem, its needles very readily.

Challenging on the eyes to distinguish between the background and foreground needles, I had to really concentrate, not unlike drawing the Monterey Cone! (here).

Rich earthy colours of the needles...










































A sight for sore eyes on a grey January day. The Hunter's Inn with Monterey Pine (behind the right chimney).































...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.