new art for autumn 2011

Autumn always makes me feel more connected to the natural world. "Nature" is such a big concept, it's tough to feel like you're really a part of it. But holding a leaf in your hand that just fell from a tree... this is something I can relate to. It's more personal, more 1:1. This is what my art is about: bringing nature down to a more personal, more human scale.

My latest photographs explore the graceful beauty of first fallen leaves of the season, as well as the hidden complexity of a Queen Anne's lace. Here are a few samples:

See all of my new botanical abstracts of leaves.

The tiny, curling leaf of a Queen Anne's lace.

The delicate sweep of a drying, autumn leaf.

An abstraction of the sawtoothed edge of a fallen leaf.

where my leaves come from

This time of year, you'll usually see me looking down at the ground as I walk, with a clutch of dried leaves in my hand. It's leaf hunt season again -- one of the most important times of year for my art. This is when I collect most of the leaves, twigs, and other broken bits of nature to photograph throughout the year. I was originally worried that my leaf hunt wouldn't be successful this year. My usual tromping grounds, like the Great Swamp, are still inundated with water because of Hurricane Irene.

So I have done most of my collecting closer to home -- in fact, most of it has been done walking my son to and from the school bus. And as luck would have it, I have found a lot of great leaves this way. We are getting towards the end of leaf season here in Northnern New Jersey, and I have a several boxes full of leaves to work from. Of course, the majority of these will be culled out, but it's a great start and I can't wait to start working with them.

 
Thank you for supporting my art!

Daniel Sroka
Daniel Sroka Botanical Abstracts

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