October Magic

This was one of those perfect October days....with a nod back to summer in the sun and splashes of fall in the trees.  We hit 70 degrees....and I took advantage of it and washed almost all of my windows and screens.

Paul and I enjoyed all the trees on our morning walk....there are so many that are at or near their peak!  

"My favorite color is October!"

The blazing red tree is on the way into our condo complex....

and it was spectacular in the morning sun.

I've been doing little bit of leaf printing the last couple of days...but I will admit that I'm absolutely loving the grass prints even more.  These are a tall grasses I found by the pond....I think the prints are so delicate

And these are some short scrappy grasses that were growing in the cracks in the pavement.  I was especially fond of this salmony pink color.

This grass is a nuisance during the season....but who would have thought that the seed heads would make such beautiful and delicate prints. 

When I make a print.....I'm left with the paint that was trapped under the grass....which you can also pull up on a print.....they are called ghost prints. I printed the salmon ghost prints onto this golden print....and I love the subtle hint of pink and the texture it gives. It's all trial and error....and sometimes you get October magic.

It's a messy process...and I have to work fairly quickly...so it's hard to take photos while I'm working....but here are a few photos of the process.

The first photo is after I rolled the paint onto my gelli plate...layed down the grasses and pressed the deli  paper all around the grass.  The next photo is the print when I pulled up the paper.

These are terrible photos....but the first photo is the grass still on the gelli plate...and the second photo is the paint that was trapped underneath that I printed onto another sheet.  No photo of that. The gelli plate is transparent...and the white lines you see are on the green oilcloth underneath....I know they're distracting.

I do love leaf prints....but you really need multiple layers to get good texture and interesting prints.  This one is OK....but it may need one more layer.

And this one is just getting started.  

But I need to take advantage of these beautiful days to enjoy the outdoors....and get some chores done. There will be plenty cooler days to play with paints again.

October is just getting started....lots of magic ahead!