Norm Magnusson's "Decorating Nature" series

Norm Magnusson's "Decorating Nature" series

The "Decorating Nature" series. My little "interventions with nature". I did the very first one of them while on vacation in India 16 years ago; I couldn't find any watercolor paper so I painted on leaves. Most all of them, like those originals, are watercolor on leaf or bark or stone or what have you. In a few of them, I used acrylic paint.

Here below is a selection of the 201 of these I have completed over those years.

fig. 200: leaf of the zelkova chameleon tree

fig. 196: leaf of the Roygbiv tree in autumn.

fig. 191: linden leaf covered with colorful "tinkerbell" mildew

fig. 186: Sycamore Anthracnose is an alluring but dangerous fungus.

fig. 184: after the hurricane, exotic oak apples fell to earth.

fig. 183: tulip tree leaf with advanced blue-tosis.

fig. 163: leaves of the "brighter horizons" tree stand out amidst autumnal decay

fig. 160: a colorful attempt to hide the ravages of age.

fig. 155: seed pods of the Peacock Maple in early spring.

fig. 153: maple leaf with winter-onset B. Riley-itis.

fig. 147: catalpa almost inundated by indigo fungus.

fig. 144: a tuft from the neighbor's hydrangea floated over in that last storm.

fig. 142: some leaves lose themselves in others.

fig. 138: beauty follows fast after some Spring showers.

fig. 132: as the days grow shorter and the nights longer,
cones from the Tulip tree huddle together for warmth and protection.

fig. 131: often, a plain surface belies a festive underbelly.

fig. 130: the so-called "magic" mushrooms are usually easy to spot.

fig. 127: late summer/early fall.

fig. 113: Some yellow poplar leaves develop faux thorns to repel predators.

fig. 105: Leaves of the Anglerfish tree resemble the teeth of the eponymous fish.

fig. 104: Black walnut leaves are more colorful than those of their cousin, the English walnut.

fig. 103: occasionally, leaves fall all the way from the sky.

fig. 95: some oak leaves self-censor.

fig. 91: certain mosses secrete a pheromone that reacts beautifully with maple leaves

fig. 90: it's said that if you arrange the leaves of the bluepoint tree in a circle, you will attract true love.

fig. 73: a maple key with cartoonitus.

fig. 63: the rare "Sunset scallop" is purported to cure narcolepsy if put under the pillow of the afflicted.

fig. 57: gingko leaves are individually beautiful but collectively stunning.

fig. 56: not normally associated with seasonal transformations, some stream-side stones actually will begin to pixellate in late autumn/early winter.