Recently when I saw a colorful photo that my friend, David Segal took

in 2012 near Glenwood Springs and Aspen I couldn't wait to paint this

awesome view of the Colorado Rockies: Purple Mountain Majesty.

I loosely sketch on a canvas tinted with a diluted solution of terra rosa.

To enhance the perspective I block in the foreground landscaping.

As I dip my brush into yellow ochre and cadmium

yellow to create the aspens I am transported

from a hot, humid August afternoon

on the back porch in Florida to a cool day in the mountains.

I remember many wonderful explorations in the Rockies

where I would drive around a bend and be awed with

the magnificence of God's creation like Deer Mountain,

the painting below that was painted en plein air, or on site

in 2002 at Estes Park, Colorado. In those days the colors in the

western mountains were mostly golden aspens with a red tree spotted here or there.

The view of my current painting comes to life when the sky is painted.

When I paint I often create two or three paintings

at the same time. I'll work on one and set the others

up on a easel in the living room so that I can observe

them from afar to see what I need to do next.

This is the completed 15x30 painting. It will be on

display on Oct. 6 at the Visual Arts Association

Autumn Show at Sumter Annex in The Villages.

The other two paintings that I did in August will soon be posted on the website.