Leaf Studies of Light, Color, and Shadows on Birch

In the early weeks of autumn 2025, as the air turned crisp and the first leaves began to shift into their seasonal hues, I stepped into my colored pencil art class with a sense of curiosity and quiet excitement. I wasn’t yet working with professional materials — just a simple set of Crayola pencils and a few beautiful birch wood rounds that had caught my eye for their natural warmth and texture. I wondered whether these small wooden circles, lovely on their own, could become something more.
These miniature leaves became my first studies in shape, color, and texture as I explored the possibilities of the colored pencil medium. The rough grain of the birch offered a surprising resilience, allowing the pencils to glide, layer, and catch on its surface in ways that brought each leaf to life. What began as an experiment quickly grew into a gentle meditation on light, shadow, and the fleeting beauty of autumn.
This series captures that exploration — the quiet brilliance of water droplets, the imperfect edges of fallen leaves, and the soft interplay of color and reflection resting on natural birch. With colored pencils and touches of white gel pen, each piece honors the small, easily overlooked moments that make the season feel both tender and alive.
Explore the project and see how simple leaves, shaped by light and time, become moments of stillness and wonder.