Oil on canvas, 12”x12”

This painting captures the feeling of a long drive, watching weather unfold far ahead on the horizon. It’s expansive and freeing, the kind of scene that makes you want to roll the windows down, take it all in, snap a few photos, (and paint it later).

For years, my husband and I made the eight-hour trip between Phoenix and Durango almost every other weekend to see his family. The route was gorgeous, a true Southwest journey through Payson, Holbrook, Gallup, and Farmington. Full of desert plains, shifting light, and endless sky, Colorado felt familiar to Arizona in many ways, but its skies held surprises: fast-changing weather, towering clouds, and bursts of color that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

This was one of those moments… a fleeting rainbow breaking through a storm. The skies of Colorado still stun me to this day. I will always appreciate those road trips and the beauty we witnessed along the way. We live in upstate New York now, which has its own kind of beauty, but nothing quite like those Colorado skies.