Deep oranges, warm reds, golden yellows, rich browns, and the occasional surprise of crimson — the most painterly season.
Autumn is the most painterly season. As chlorophyll retreats from the leaves, the pigments that were always there — carotenoids and anthocyanins — are revealed in a last, extravagant display that lasts only weeks before the frost takes them. The result is a palette that feels simultaneously warm and melancholic: the amber of maple, the rust of oak, the deep crimson of liquidambar, the gold of birch catching low afternoon light. Against a sky that has shifted from summer blue to a cooler, more considered grey-blue, these colours glow as if lit from within. The air smells of woodsmoke and damp earth. This palette draws from all of that — the warmth of the fire and the chill of the shadow, the brilliance of the leaf and the darkness of the bark beneath.
RGB (139-62-35)
#8b3e23
moderate and dark — a orange that reads as grounded.
When Firm Bluff amid Leaning →RGB (202-55-22)
#ca3716
This medium red sits at the vivid end of its family.
Solid Alcove alongside Connecting →RGB (184-110-30)
#b86e1e
This medium orange sits at the vivid end of its family.
When Old-fashioned Bog with Passing →RGB (226-51-24)
#e23318
This medium red sits at the vivid end of its family.
When the Temperate Bluff beneath Pacing →:root { --autumn-1: #8b3e23; --autumn-2: #ca3716; --autumn-3: #a0a01c; --autumn-4: #e3454a; --autumn-5: #b86e1e; --autumn-6: #e23318;}