The autumn's colors from La Croix, Lutry. 18 November 2024. 9x21 cm

The Autumn Colors from La Croix-Lutry. 18 November 2024

This original plein-air oil painting was created in La Croix-sur-Lutry, Switzerland, in November 2024. Painted directly outdoors, the work captures the final intensity of autumn colour overlooking Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), at a moment when golden foliage still glows before the arrival of winter.

The composition unfolds as a horizontal band of colour and light. Trees in shades of gold, ochre, orange and muted red stretch across the foreground, partially revealing glimpses of the lake beyond. Rather than focusing on individual forms, the painting records the visual rhythm created by autumn vegetation, distant water and soft seasonal light.

The lake appears through openings between the trees, introducing cool blue and silver tones that contrast with the warmth of the foliage. This interplay between autumn colours and the calm surface of Lac Léman creates the central harmony of the painting. The landscape feels both luminous and quiet, suspended between the richness of autumn and the stillness that precedes winter.

The brushwork remains direct and expressive. Thick layers of oil paint build the foliage through energetic strokes of colour, allowing trees and vegetation to vibrate with light rather than settle into precise detail. The painting preserves the sensation of looking across a landscape where colour itself becomes the primary subject.

The title The Autumn Colors from La Croix-Lutry refers not only to the season but also to the elevated viewpoint above Lutry. From La Croix-sur-Lutry, the landscape opens toward Lac Léman, where vineyards, gardens, trees and distant water create changing colour relationships throughout the year. In late autumn, warm vegetation often contrasts dramatically with the cooler tones of the lake and sky.

The panoramic format reinforces this experience of looking across the landscape. Rather than directing attention toward a single object, the composition invites the eye to move slowly along the line of trees, colours and distant horizons. The painting becomes an observation of atmosphere and season rather than a description of a specific location.

On this November day, the remaining autumn foliage seemed unusually luminous against the cool light of the lake. The painting preserves a fleeting moment when the landscape still carried the warmth of autumn even as winter approached.

Created during a single plein-air painting session, this work belongs to my ongoing series dedicated to Lutry, Lavaux and the landscapes surrounding Lake Geneva. Each painting records a direct experience of place, season and atmosphere observed outdoors in nature.

Original plein-air oil painting by Olga Tacan.

Location: La Croix-sur-Lutry, Vaud, Switzerland
Subject: Autumn trees overlooking Lac Léman (Lake Geneva)
Region: Lavaux, Switzerland
Medium: Oil painting
Date painted: 18 November 2024

Oil on carton

Plain air painting

Size 9 cm x 21 cm

Size with passé-partout 23x34 cm 

Date: 18 November 2025

Location: La Croix Lutry, Switzerland