Circle Cliffs Sunset
©2007-2023 Susan Thiele
Location: Utah, Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument
Image Size: 19 " x 7"
Usually the fall brings clear blue skies and mild weather, but a strong monsoon weather pattern challenged my plans to paint plein air. The previous evening's sunset above the Circle Cliffs had been spectacular and I decided that it would be the subject of my painting the next day, which dawned cold and gloomy. The wash next to my campsite served as a great foreground. In the afternoon, it had turned sunny again, and I was about half completed when the flash food arrived into this very wash! What an atmosphere for finishing my painting! The water ran 2-3 feet deep and lasted a full 12 hours into the night - in places only 20 feet from my tent!