Impression Evergreen

"Red Alpenglow" Colored Pencil Down in southern Colorado a string of snow-covered mountains looms over a broad, ranchland valley. It’s just before dawn and the sun’s rays are streaming into the atmosphere where the light is reflected onto the peaks, creating a red alpenglow. The drawing’s obscure foreground is still frozen in a state of mystic shadow. A stand of dark trees stretches across the page as the strange silhouette is outlined in blue, emphasizing the scene’s surreal essence. The snowy pasture gradually gives way to the rosy cordillera where the shapes are defined by passages of delicate shading. Devoid of all detail, the white summits melt into a bleached sky, confirming the mountains’ sacred connection with heaven. Rather than race to faithfully record the fleeting nature of a transitory sunrise, it seems like there must be something much deeper. An expressionistic approach releases the artist to pursue a more personal interpretation that depends on a certain

Sangre de Cristo sunrise Winter nights in the high country are obscure, eternal and inclement and the inkwell of black firmament is glittered with a profusion of silver pinpoints that contradict the startling silence. It’s a beautifully eerie combination of contentment and discomfort. Down in southern Colorado, there’s a mountain range that’s as rugged as it is remote. Rising out of a desert situation, the chain of needle-sharp peaks extends all the way into New Mexico, transporting its picturesque allure across state lines. The mountains are called Blood of Christ and if you ever witness a Sangre de Cristo sunrise, you’ll understand why. Just before dawn, the first solar rays are reflected off of snowy summits, creating a rosy alpenglow that astonishes the retina. The steady transformation unfolds even more dramatically when a setting, full moon shines brightly in a purple sky. The crimson sierras come into full relief as the forceful contrast between light and shadow defines th