In the last couple of weeks the evenings became quite cool. I’ve changed my clothing and my duvet too, and even Pumpkin sleeps under his blanket much of the time. The days are still nice and sunny, so the koyo will be a few more weeks, the final sign for me to move my futon into a smaller room for the winter.
Two weeks ago, a friend invited me to an exhibition of watercolor flowers; she also had two of her paintings shown. It was an exhibition of hobby painters, but the teacher is a professional who specializes in realistic paintings of flowers. His pieces are incredibly detailed with strong colors, and according to my friend, he always works with real flowers, so all of his paintings are unique.
I was very impressed by a small, post-card sized painting of a single momiji maple leaf, bright red with but tiny spots of withered brown, set in a dark blue frame. My friend and I wondered how long it might take to paint such a picture, but we couldn’t come to a conclusion, so we left it there.
Or rather: I did, because fast forward a week and my friend presented me with her own take on “autumn leaf”. She said it took her roughly 30 minutes to finish, so I’m guessing the master can do it in maybe half the time. In any case, all I need now is a frame.
