Oil on canvas 30 X 40 inches
Exhibited: Breckenridge Gallery, CO
$5600 framed
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/744006_750d0dbcc3414e8bbda52b2c793dcd31~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_158,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/744006_750d0dbcc3414e8bbda52b2c793dcd31~mv2.jpg)
About this oil:
I was immediately drawn to those trees nestled together in the snow. While driving on a high altitude, Colorado backroad toward the end of the day, I got this photograph of the view. The colors were very washed out in the photo and that was just fine with me. Now I was free to make something new and with colors far more vivid and different from the actual scene.
Painting in the high-contrast trees against the snow in purple blues, the oil gained power quickly. Now I had the option of keeping the monochromatic colors at the bottom to include the entire oil or to take the upper portion of the scene in a different, but equally interesting direction.
Skies create wonderful opportunities and I took the opening to bring in more color. I kept the last-light quality and soft focus, keeping the oil on the subdued side.
Once the work was completed, I was surprised to see that those powerful, dark trees in the front had been equaled by the colorful background ridge line and clouds – a nice balance and unexpected outcome!
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/744006_3468472d60434569a6f206283b01c11c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_111,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/744006_3468472d60434569a6f206283b01c11c~mv2.jpg)