Hours upon hours of his life, Nicholas has quietly studied the sky, the mountains, lakes, clouds and always with an eye to what is illuminated, what is shadowed, what is revealed, what is hidden…

In this painting, from an almost elevated perspective, as though seen from another mountain range, it seems that the dark, slashing blues in the distance and in the foreground have given way to a moment of stillness and revelation in the middle of the work. With the use of cadmium orange and yellow, the viewer is reminded that between the storms there are moments of contrast and relief.

On this rainy last day of November, this work encourages my mind and my spirit to pay attention while I wait for the break in the cloud cover. When the light returns, and it will, my experience will be heightened, like these shockingly vibrant oranges on the mountains. That’s the thing about darker days, they are necessary if I want to know a deeper joy.