Leaving the Great Sand Dunes Before the Storm Painting

Unframed Wired and ready to hang In 2017, I took a solo cross-country road trip, where I camped in national parks. Between camping stays, I came upon the Great Sand Dunes and spent half the day marveling at them. As I left, a storm approached from the east. The quickly moving dark clouds cast shadows over much of the prairie (I traveled between two mountain ranges with a big prairie in between–quite dramatic in its own right), but slices of sun insisted on having their say. A strange but fascinating yellow/green light shone down on expanses of prairie grass, and its warmth against the cool of the sage and brush and gray patches of sky stirred me deeply. I wanted to express that stirring. And so I did. “Leaving the Great Sand Dunes Before the Storm” is part of my Road Trip Series, which consists of paintings based on particular places that moved me most deeply.