I have been driving by this view for decades on the many trips over La Veta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado. So after buzzing past it yet again I vowed to finally go paint it. I waited for a snow storm and went up the very next morning. I got up there in time to see the morning sun light up the scene and started painting in the winter cold, although it was very near the equinox.

There were many aspects to this scene that had attracted me to want to paint this scene, that forced me to pull over many, many times.

I think it has many classical elements that speak to this unique part of the West, like a top ten list of southwestern landscape.

The scene features just about every plant and therefore color that make this part of the world so remarkable; pinyon, juniper, coyote willow, sagebrush, chamisa (rabbitbrush [sounds better in Spanish]) and grama grass. Grey blues, to almost lime green, to ochres.

The dark salmon colored soil that starts here and runs down to the other side of Santa Fe. The fresh snow reflecting the painfully blue clear skies.  

Topped off by just a hint of the creek as it bends under the edge of the eroded snowy bank.

So glad I finally painted it!