High Country Color

BERNARD MARKS WROTE ABOUT HIS ENORMOUS, STRIKINGLY VERTICAL PAINTING “HIGH COUNTRY COLOR”:

“High Country Color” is a large, strongly vertical acrylic painting that I made from my field studies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the longest range in the Rocky Mountains.

The “Sangres,” as they’re known locally, start in northern New Mexico and run straight through Colorado all the way to Wyoming. Along the way, they incorporate some of the highest elevations in the United States.

I don’t remember which state I happened to find this particular stand of trees and flowers, but I could have painted the exact same “High Country Color” scene in any of those three.

The Sangres are spectacular in every season. In late spring and summer, city dwellers drive up to fill their eyes with the sight of blooming wildflowers and migrating birds. And they repeat the process in fall for the joy of brilliant-yellow aspens up close and spectacular sweeps of cottonwoods along the rivers. Not many venture up in winter, but they do enjoy looking at the snow-colored mountains from below. See my original oil painting “Winter Coat” —another strongly vertical piece—for a good example of that kind of scene.

For this composition, I took a photographer’s approach, choosing a low-angle perspective and a shallow depth of field. The result is a detailed foreground and a background of yellow foliage that is abstract, rather than detailed.


This original painting is available for purchase, as are large, top-quality, custom-made giclée prints.

• acrylic on canvas, gallery-wrapped and ready for hanging

• 48″ x 30″

TO PLACE AN ORDER…

Choose a link below for the painting or print of your choice. (Prices include all applicable taxes. If shipping is needed, that additional cost will depend on the distance from Santa Fe and the price of packaging.)

1. ORIGINAL PAINTING: $4,500

2. GICLEE PRINT ON THICK ARCHIVAL PAPER, same size as the original $1,125

3. PRINT ON GALLERY-WRAPPED CANVAS, same size as the original: $1,125

Contact Martha Marks if you’d prefer a different size print.

Return to the COLORADO page of the Oils and Acrylics section.


This painting and all reproductions of it are © Bernard Marks Fine Art. No unauthorized use is permitted. All rights reserved.