High Sierra

I love painting celestial pieces. This painting I feel is one of my quintessential night sky paintings - painted at a time in my life where there was a lot of hardship. I felt like I was literally "in the dark" circumstantially and emotionally. To me, this painting is what it feels like to be in a dark place - where holding on to hope requires great faith and loving oneself is a great victory.
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This painting also captures my love of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where cascading waterfalls, milky-blue alpine lakes, towering mountains, and clear night skies harmonize into a symphony fit for the senses of any outdoor-lover. The dragon head in the sky came out completely by accident while I was painting this. Instead of calling this a "happy accident" (I can't steal Bob Ross' phrase), I am calling it a stroke of serendipity.