Valley of Fire is a wild landscape of swirls. You can see the layers of geological history — layers of sand turned to waves of stone. The warm colors stun at sunrise. It’s one of those places where a photo will do — it doesn’t really need to be painted at all. It’s already an abstract expression of emotion.

But I tried.

The warmth of the Nevada desert could not be further from the cool glaciers and granites I’ve been painting from Iceland, Patagonia, and West Coast. It’s a new color palette; a new language. I’m just beginning to work through it…