"Autumn Leaves Lap Swimmer" Premium Wooden Framed Poster

Rust red, burnt orange and mustard are set against navy and mid-blue, and the whole picture runs on that split: warm for everything that floats, cool for everything that moves. A swimmer seen from directly above cuts a long diagonal, leading arm stretched down to the lower left where the hand breaks into a narrow point of white foam, the other arm bent high and about to come over. The skin is a flat tan-orange worked with darker ochre hatching across the shoulder blade and upper arm, and the navy cap carries a few pale blue streaks and the thin line of a goggle strap. Maple and oval leaves crowd in from all sides, each with fine dark veins and its own small blue ripple underneath, so they read as lying on the surface of the pool.

Two lane ropes of ribbed navy and red floats slant across at upper left and lower right, parallel to the body, and they are what turn a pond into a marked lane in an outdoor pool late in the season. White speckled foam follows the shoulders and trails behind the bent arm in a curved wake. As a framed poster the drawing keeps its long diagonal intact, which matters for a picture built on one stroke. It suits a swimmer who trains into the cold months, or the wall of a coach’s office.