autumn leaves

Autumn Poplars along the Clutha River, Wanaka
Autumn Poplars along the Clutha River, Wanaka

Wanaka is world famous in New Zealand for it's Autumn colours. Most New Zealand native trees are evergreen so there's not usually much change of colour with the seasons. But Wanaka has a number of introduced species planted along the lakeshore, in it's parks and gardens. Poplars, in particular, are a icon in our local landscape and at this time of year the gold colour is just wonderful ... especially against the grey skies we often get at this time of year.

An artist can't help but be inspired by all this colour, can she?

Here I am cutting leaf shapes from some papers I painted with lots of bright Autumn colours.

Collaging with hand painted papers
Collaging with hand painted papers

And below is the start of 'Autumn Leaf Mandala'. About to get glue everywhere and on everything. I'm never a tidy worker.

The making of Autumn Leaf Mandala
The making of Autumn Leaf Mandala

And here are some finished pieces. On a rainy day it's like having Autumn and sunshine right in my studio!

Autumn Leaf Mandala.
Autumn Leaf Mandala.
Autumn Leaves 1
Autumn Leaves 1
Autumn Leaves 2
Autumn Leaves 2

Taking it one step further, I then scanned the pieces into my computer and had fun making merchandise out of them on Redbubble.

Autumn Leaf Mandala on a throw pillow
Autumn Leaf Mandala on a throw pillow
Autumn Leaves 1 on a tote bag
Autumn Leaves 1 on a tote bag
Autumn Leaves 2 on a pouch
Autumn Leaves 2 on a pouch

There are also prints, leggings, duvet covers, tshirts, scarves and much more in my Redbubble store - www.redbubble.com/people/scatterlings. Redbubble will print these on demand and ship all over the world. How cool is that?

And if you'd like to purchase one of the original works, please just get in touch.

More leafy designs to follow shortly :-)

Paint a free watercolour online lesson

A free lesson for you!

One of my all-time favourite paintings of a stormy day in a ruined Roman town in Spain.

You can do this! Let me show you how. Join my community to receive this free video tutorial.

Join here
pen before the watercolour wash

pen before the watercolour wash

27 February 2026

Last weekend I ran a poll on Patreon and it seems a number of people are interested in different ways to approach watercolours and adding different media. I'm excited about this! Let's mix things up a...

Read more →

an olive branch in watercolour

an olive branch in watercolour

12 February 2026

There’s something wonderfully calming about painting botanicals. You don’t need to rush — you can slow right down and paint one leaf at a time, dipping in and out of the painting whenever you fi...

Read more →