Renee Walden

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 :-)