Autumn By The River

Autumn By The River by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Dalälven, Gammelgården, Borlänge

This painting, Autumn By The River, was one of the first that I did after moving to the town of Borlange in Sweden. The river here is the Dal River or as it is known in Swedish, Dalalven (pronounced darl elven). The river originates in Norway and runs through central Sweden and out into the Baltic Sea. At this particular spot, there is a nearby road bridge over the river and just out of sight, upstream, is a hydro-electric power station. The power station, as well as providing electricity for the town, provides another crossing point over the river and makes the area between the two river crossings, a very popular circular walk. The river has well-kept pathways on both banks and is lined by a mixture of deciduous trees, which in the autumn, make a beautiful display, doubled up by some marvellous reflections. On this day, the river appeared almost still and with the sunny, clear blue sky, gave me the perfect opportunity to capture some of those reflections. I even managed to put in a birch tree, one of my favourite trees, which look good all year round, but particularly during the autumn.