Autumn Changes 🍂

sarah816202

Sep 1

2 min read

Autumn is beginning to emerge. The signs are becoming evident, although the change is still subtle.

I've noticed a few piles of yellowed, crisp leaves where the swirling wind has gathered them together. The morning air is a little cooler, the evening light is drawing in closer, and there can be a touch of mist and damp hovering in the air. The warmth of summer is beginning to fade.

A large dark tree stands centre-left with smaller trees behind and to the right, casting long shadows across golden-green grass in low sunlight. — Long Autumn Shadows and Early Morning Dew - photograph by Lina Rob Source: Unsplash

Butterflies are less frequent fliers, while this year's young birds are now fully grown. They gather to feed, perch on fences and walls, or bob amongst the hedgerows looking for ripening berries.

The trees are changing from the greens they once wore, shimmering in the summer sun, to a different jacket, tinged with golden and amber shades — the fashionistas of nature!

Look to the skies, and you may spot swallows and house martins gathering on telephone wires, preparing for their migration south.

Small black-and-white birds perched at intervals along several diagonal telephone wires against a clear blue sky. — Swallows on Telephone Wires Getting Ready to Migrate South - photograph by Carter Nick Source: Pixabay

Autumn can still surprise us with a late burst of summer warmth, but we need to be ready for all eventualities. Coats, scarves and the obligatory umbrella are creeping back into our lives — and boots need to be at the ready!

Meteorological autumn begins on 1 September and runs through September, October and November. Astronomical autumn begins a little later, at the autumn equinox on 23 September.

This week, we're noticing those first subtle changes as one season gradually gives way to another.

How might you capture Autumn Changes in your art? Here are a few ideas to get you started...

🎨 Caught in the Breeze 🍃

We can't see the wind, but we can see what it does. Try leaves swirling, trees bending, hair or scarves blowing, washing on a line or an umbrella caught by the wind.

🎨 Changing Light & Long Shadows ☀️

The autumn sun sits lower in the sky and makes longer shadows. Draw or paint a person, tree, building, fence or object and the shadow it makes — real or imagined.

🎨 Nature's Changing Scene 🍂

Look for the first changes of autumn in a garden, street, park, hedgerow or view from a window. Explore changing leaves, berries, seeds and colours, or show summer gradually giving way to autumn.

🎨 Autumn on the Move 🐦

Show something moving through an autumn day. Birds might gather, squirrels scurry, people hurry through the wind or leaves tumble along a path.

🎨 Whatever the Weather! 🌦️

Choose your autumn weather — sunshine, mist, wind, rain or a dramatic sky. Add puddles and reflections, people sheltering from rain or a landscape disappearing into the mist.