“Aurora’s Tales”

My earlier “Time’s Narrative” series was the first time in a while that I wanted to create something less abstract. Inspired by the Rainbow Mountains in China, it was a play of patterns I see in natural stones with ribbons of color undulating across the canvas. I remember standing back, smiling, and thinking it was a successful combination of a recognizable landscape and my own personal painting style.

I found myself wanting to explore that theme more and went on to create both my “Sunset Stories” and “Aurora’s Tales” series. I will write about “Sunset Stories” another time, but today I thought I would tell you a bit about “Aurora’s Tales”.

On the surface, it was a simple shift of color pallet. I stepped away from the deep earth tones of “Time’s Narrative” and opted to create something that captured the brightness and lightness of spring. But when I think deeper about the inspiration, I realized it was indelibly linked to my earliest memories of California. In 1998, I had driven all the way from Missouri to the small town of Nipomo. That drive up the coast was a visual feast of ocean and rolling hills.

“Aurora’s Tales” is my attempt at capturing dawn’s light across those rolling hills.