This painting was a catharsis- an emotional and physical release. I did a series of paintings of landscapes like this, where I used a bigger angular brush, and I went to work create large brush strokes and blending three colors together.

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In each of these paintings, there was a dark color like prussian blue (sometimes I used burnt umber or Dioxazine Purple, but always a darker color), and you can notice these darker areas in the bottom of the painting, where there appears to be a large landscape blocking out the sun, and it could look like a rolling hill or a mountain at dawn or dusk.

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Then there's the titanium white that represents the burst of light or white in the middle. Having that burst of light was very satisfying, and represents the shakti which is intrinsic to all of my work.

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Finally, the red is the glue or the bonding component between the lights and darks. If the light and the dark is the masculine - the direction of the painting, and the elements that create the composition, then the red is the feminine, or the experience for the viewer.

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The darks and lights are essential to deliver the "message," to "get the painting done", and the red is the feeling, the sensation, and the journey of the painting.

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Ultimately, we are not here just to "get from here to there". Rather, we are here to experience the beauty and the awe, the sublime, and the wonder that this road allows us to have.

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We must always be aware to complete whatever mission we are on, no matter how big or small, and we must also remember to receive life, and gather the gifts along the way, for others in the past have worked tirelessly to deliver the beauty that is at our disposal right now, and we, at least some of us, are working now, throughout our lives, to deliver that level of excellence to future beings.

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Let us take in the reds, while we also are guided by the direction of the darks and lights.