A friend who saw this painting told me that, if he had seen the painting before coming to North America, he would have assumed that the colors were exaggerated. In the fall, Red maples display a huge range of colors—various shades of red as well as violet, yellow and orange. Even so, rarely are all of these colors present at the same time as they are in this cluster of trees. After finishing the painting my palette was covered with virtually every color in my collection.

The “Red” in the name Red Maple, from which it gets both its common and botanical name, is its dominant theme, and it lasts all year. In winter and spring its buds are red and in summer its twigs and leaf stems are tinged with red. In early spring the swelling buds create a reddish haze in the swampy areas and on the banks of lakes and streams where is it commonly found. I am preparing my mosquito netting and repellent in preparation for the spring when I will paint these subtle ruddy tones, an exciting challenge for a knife painter.

Red Maples (Acer rubrum) are common throughout Eastern North America, from the broadleaf forest belt of Canada to as far south as Florida. I ran across this particular group while hiking in a conservation area in Southern Ontario.