I never know where the inspiration for a painting will come from. I was up on a ridge above the Clackamas River, hoping to find a break through the trees for an expansive view. I just happened stumble upon this view literally at my feet. It must have aligned exactly with the sunset because a beacon of sunlight suddenly cut through the shadows to light up only this secluded little spot.
This promised to be a tough painting to do, but I jumped right in and trusted my process to do justice to that moment. I saw this as a contest between dark and light and complementary colors. I purposely glazed purple in the shadow areas and yellow in the light areas to get that visual vibration that happens when complementary colors are side by side. This approach also helped enhance the extremes in lighting.