Whenever I return to England, there are more than a few places that I want to return to again and again.  High on that list is Hyde Park, on the edge of Notting Hill and Kensington in London.

I’ve gotten to know many of the paths, and love blending in with a morning stroll. Inside the Bayswater Gate, down Broad Walk, and near the hotel we often stay at, there is a magnificent tree that draws my attention no matter what season.

But at the end of autumn when the leaves change and fall…it is magnificent.

I often wonder who will wander beneath it.  In this painting, I have placed a young woman pushing a stroller, which I actually referenced from another photo I took in the Bath Botanical Gardens.

I wanted to make the point of future generations being able to enjoy this same vista. She fit in perfectly.

Once the drama of light and dark is worked out, then to the color. It looks a mess at this stage, but it’s how I work out my palette.

And then it is just layer after layer, building up the detail, keeping the mood. I painted the mother’s coat red to draw the eye to her so she could compete with the magnificent foliage of the tree.

And finally, after weeks of painting, a few stray leaves blowing in the wind to add life and motion to the scene.

“Season’s End (Hyde Park)”, 30 x 24″, oil