Autumn in Fennville: Apple Trees and Raspberries
Oil on Canvas, 11 × 14 inches, 2026

A tree is never just one color. Within its leaves and branches are countless variations of greens, blues, yellows, reds, and violets, revealed by the changing light and seasons. Autumn seems to bring these colors into conversation with one another, transforming the familiar into something extraordinary. On this cool autumn morning in Fennville, Michigan, the apple trees were alive with glorious color, contrasting with the cooler
blue-greens of the raspberry fields beneath a sweeping sky. Yet there was also a certain melancholy in the beauty of the scene, a quiet awareness that such brilliance is fleeting.

I wanted to capture the richness of that moment, to celebrate the beauty that nature offers while it is there to be experienced.

Begun en plein air with the Saugatuck-Douglas Art Club painting group and completed in my studio, the painting reflects my continuing exploration of expressive color and brushwork. I wanted to convey something of the emotional experience of being there—the vitality of the orchard, the changing light, and the extraordinary colors of autumn in southwest Michigan.