One of my favorite things about big sky country is the endless view of weather on the horizon.
One Sunday afternoon we were driving home after church, and there was a huge storm rolling in. It wasn’t quite above us yet, but clouds were already blanketing the sky in almost every direction, and we watched as they turned from silvery grey to deep purple in a matter of minutes. Sunlight gleamed from somewhere behind us, filtering through the haze to make the fields sparkle and glow under the dark clouds. Ahead of us, the mountains dimmed and receded, almost obscured by the sky. The contrasts and colors were mesmerizing, and I had to try capturing it on canvas!
The Ascent
I started this canvas with an underpainting of neon pink. That might seem like an unusual choice, but it gave a warm foundation to what could have become a cold, dreary scene. Next, I blocked out the ground area, then went to work on building up layers upon layers of clouds with dioxazine purple and neutral grey, adding a swash of white and a hint of black every so often for some added depth and dimension. It took quite a few rounds of painting before the sky had the intensity of movement we saw that day in the car!
Next, I turned my attention to the ground. When we were driving into that storm, the clouds were so thick that the mountains were nearly hidden on the horizon. I had some purplish-grey gelli prints I had made that matched the sky almost perfectly, and cut out mountain ranges from that. In contrast, the ground was a bold mix of colors and texture. I ended up creating some new gelli prints with shades of burnt umber, light yellow, and sap green, with a floral pattern for a hint of vegetation.
Although my paintings are more about the process than the end result, this one really seems to capture the spectacle we glimpsed that day! I love how it came together!
‘Der Anstieg’
The final step was to find a musical piece to pair with this painting. There is a lot of classical music out there describing the turbulent middle of a storm, but I wanted something that felt more anticipatory… something that would convey the buildup to some awe-inspiring meteorological theater. I wanted a sense of wonder and beauty, rather than dread and danger.
As soon as I heard Der Anstieg, from An Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss (listen here), I felt it was perfect for this scene. The symphony was originally composed to depict an 11-hour climb through the Alps, and this particular section tells the story of the initial ascent. It captures an atmosphere of expectancy, and I thought it could apply to the ascent of a storm just as easily. I borrowed the English translation of Der Anstieg for the title of my painting: The Ascent.
What does this piece say to you? Can you feel the wind whipping across your face, and smell the rain on the air?
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