A Quiet Winter Sunset

A Quiet Winter Sunset grew out of a set of photos taken along the frozen Knik River, during one of those winter evenings when the light feelt more striking than usual. In the images, the sun was just about to disappear behind the mountains while stretching warm colors across the snow while the sky shifted toward a darker blue, capturing the stillness settling in as the day slipped away.

I included the bridge on the left because it’s such a recognizable part of that landscape, a steady line that naturally leads the eye toward the mountains in the distance. Their shadows were already deepening in the photos, while the snow in the center was catching the last bits of color. The tracks across the bottom hints of human presence without disturbing the otherwise serene view.

I used Arches hot pressed paper for this painting, layering gouache from Holbein, Daniel Smith, and M. Graham until the colors finally matched what the reference photos had originally captured. It involved a lot of experimentation and a lot of patience. As you can imagine, snow at sunset isn’t white—it’s a shifting mosaic of violets, blues, and rose tones—and finding that mix took more persistence than I expected. But once the palette clicked, it was very satisfying to see the composition come together.

Although the painting comes from a real moment—likely a spontaneous stop at Reflections Lake on the way to or from Anchorage—what I’ve tried to capture with this painting is the calm one can experience, standing there on the shore of the Knik River, watching the sun set behind the mountain as the day fades. A Quiet Winter Sunset captures that moment of quiet contemplation.