Leaf Peepers & Peak Color: An artist's case for looking year round

Are you one of the masses of 'leaf-peepers” heading out to see the fall colors?

Spending time outside every day through four distinct seasons is integral to my art practice. It consistently inspires new palettes and shapes and thoughts. It keeps me fit. It reminds me that beauty is all around, and that discomfort and decay are also universal. As an artist who's a naturalist, I feel like trees are teachers. Paying closer attention to them through spring, summer, fall, and winter, year after year, reminds us that challenging times will pass. And that matters now more than ever. Here's an overview:

Spring = activate. Energy is palpable. The ground teems with ephemeral wildflowers just as queen bees are waking from a long sleep. It's exhilarating. From mighty oak to graceful maple, something exciting is going on and everybody knows it. Sap is rising. Buds are breaking. Leaves are unfurling and masses of fluorescent green erupt into the sky.

Summer = build. Bright springy masses of chartreuse become the velvety deep green of summer seemingly overnight. Chlorophyll, the green alchemist of nature, goes into overdrive to capture summer sunlight's golden rays, transforming them into sweet sustenance. Weaving carbon and water into sugar to share and store in its roots is a miraculous dance of light into life.

Fall = release. In fall, shorter days and falling temperatures signal deciduous trees to prepare for dormancy. Chlorophyll's production of sugar slows and then stops. Fiery reds, burnished golds, and sunset oranges appear as the chlorophyll fades to reveal hidden pigments: carotenes and anthocyanins. Too soon, each leaf flutters to the ground, insulating the earth for the cold that will follow.

Winter = Rest. Not long after leaves drop, the first snow of winter adds a layer to that leafy cover. Branches highlighted in stark white, bare trees draw an austere contrast to our busy lives around the holidays. Trees know and trust that rest is part of growth. That hushed vista, snow-laden and silent, is a reminder to rest. For trees and for us, it's a good time to slow down and connect with our inner selves.

When things are going well, human tasks and activities run on a similar cycle, each of us with our own timing: activate, build, release, rest. Start again. Don't skip a step. It's a natural and healthy rhythm that's easily lost.

It seems to me that by showing up and getting outside, season after season, resilience stops being an idea and becomes ingrained. Our bodies and minds understand and thrive in the same rhythm as trees.

So if you're out leaf-peeping, stuck bumper-to-bumper in a frenzy of weekend lookie-loos, consider returning to that vista next month. And the month after that. It'll still be be amazing. And much calmer.

To Trees–some of Earth's wisest, most generous beings–thank you.

Studio News
I'm delighted that my solo exhibition, Things That Go Bump | New Abstract works by Michelle Louis will be online for everyone to view in mid-October. The exhibition delves into boundaries and touch points. The moment things meet and something new begins. Twenty+ new acrylic paintings on canvas and paper in a range of sizes. Stay tuned and subscribe to learn more!

I'm going to Hollywood! Well, one of my paintings is, anyway. I'm excited to have one of my big paintings selected to star in an upcoming Apple+ TV series. It's filming now and I'll have more on that later.

It's been a busy couple of months. Huge thanks to everyone who's added my work to their collections!

See my available work here

September Scenes from the Studio and Beyond

11 Things to Know About Trees- Click to learn more
1. One large tree provides enough oxygen for a family 
2. The world's largest tree, by volume, is the General Sherman Sequoia in California
3. Tree shaded surfaces can be 20-45 degrees cooler than area in open, direct sunlight
4. Trees remove pollutants and reduce stormwater runoff
5. Trees provide essential food and shelter for wildlife
6. The oldest trees in the world are more than 5,000 years old
7. Trees communicate with each other and recognize their offspring
8. Trees and plants boost memory, attention, and cognitive outcomes in children
9. Trees help us all feel good both physically and mentally
10. Forests are carbon sinks and help fight Climate Change
11. Worldwide, a football field sized swath of forest is destroyed every second of every day