Last Light of Yellowstone 2

 

'Last Light of Yellowstone 2'

11" x 35"

oil on panel

Redo! I painted this scene from Yellowstone Natl Park about nine years ago, and I've been wanting to tweak it for about eight years, lol. When you paint from photos (as I do), it's easy to get stuck focusing only on matching the photo instead of trying to capture the reasons you took the photo in the first place... 

After a full day of seeing all the iconic sights of Yellowstone, we were driving toward the northeast entrance of the park. The early evening sun was hiding beyond the peaks to our left and just kissing the tops of the ridges to our right. Wildfire smoke in the area made it hazy and stole most of the blue from the sky, but it also settled softly into all the low places, adding drama to their darker shades of blue. And then, this valley. Not so narrow as to make us claustrophobic, not so wide as to diminish the height of the hills. Peacefully flat, with likely a river or stream hidden among the lush wild grasses. So vast! A panorama reserved for high places, but we were safely nestled in the valley, and could still see for miles. 

I hope I captured a bit of it.

Before and after: