The work is designed then executed in layers:

• Fall color acrylic covering the entire canvass, with a rough, somewhat random gradient from darker colors in the upper right to lighter colors in the lower left
• Several coats of white tempera over the acrylic with tree shapes on lower levels
• Detailed tree in watercolor
• Once everything is well dried, tempera is removed in leaf shapes, exposing the color on the lowest level
• Gold leaf paint leaves applied just for fun.

The fun and difficulty of this design is not knowing exactly what the color exposed will be, since the color is applied before the fog, the fogged in trees or the detailed top tree, are painted.