After painting numerous paths and forests, I wanted to try something different.  I thought mountains would be a nice change and chose this scene because of the unique angle and the brilliant orange sunrise.  I really enjoyed playing with the colors in this piece—accentuating the blues and purples and contrasting them with the yellow-orange gradients in the sunburst.  I wanted the whole painting to have a hopeful feeling, like going outside on a bright, sunny day after being stuck indoors for far too long.