Winter Solitude

This late/fall - early/winter painting brings the viewer into a beautiful open space along the Platte River north of Deckers, CO, literally in the artist's back yard. Hidden behind the stand of lodge pole pine trees is a cozy cabin that sits along a meander (one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river) with the remains of autumn's foliage bordering the property. The early snow has yet to wipe away the backlit golden colors of the aspen grove in the middle ground that opens into a path leading to the distant pine covered background. The sunlight that peaks through the shady areas and then strongly covers the middle ground brings warmth to the coolness of the snow-covered ground on this early winter day.