Autumn Hillside

"Once you get into a painting like this, it's not going to stand up unless you render everything. This kind of scene gives me the chance to use a lot of colors I don't normally use. I wanted to create the feeling that you were wading through the maple saplings. They are all about knee height, so it's almost like a sunlight-dappled carpet of orange and yellow that's suspended above the forest floor.

"When it came time to add depth to the saplings, I remembered these fellows from my own backyard, and I painted one standing up in the leaves. I also thought this was a good opportunity to communicate raccoons exploring nature. Most people's conception of raccoons is that they're always near water, but I've seen them away from water quite often. They stay in one area and usually go into hibernation at the end of the summer. That's why their fur is fairly thick."