Friends gave me this pear to paint with its three beautiful autumn leaves. They were falling off the tree as I watched and I had very limited time to capture their essence before winter came. I picked them on a cold damp afternoon, and went back to gather leaves over the next few weeks very early in the morning. The orchard was shrouded in mist. By then of course, the birds had had their fill and only the toughest leaves remained on the tree.