Rio Grande Rojo pastel

Santa Elena Canyon is a favorite painting spot for me as well as other artists. Painting the Rio Grande river as it flows through the towering mountain walls is a very dynamic scene.

But, on this cloudy morning my eye was drawn to the left of this iconic scene, where the mountain has a sharp diagonal drop. The absence of bright light was allowing the grasses, the mountain range and the river to show their deeper colors of red and gold.