Rosemarie Armstrong

Light in the Rockies

May 27 2023 in the Lost River Range of Idaho, a very high section of the Rocky Mountains. Just two roads cross this range. On October 1983 the region was shaken by the Borah Peak earthquake, magnitude 6.9; Lost River Range rose up while Big Lost River Valley dropped, resulting in a fault scarp of almost 4.3m along the mountains' base. This painting "Light in the Rockies" celebrates Diamond Peak, third highest peak in Idaho at 3719m. Throughout this afternoon the atmosphere was volatile with heavy rain and hail limiting visibility, little chance of setting up a pochade box to start a painting. But as the road descended sharply into the Snake River Valley near the town of Arco, there appeared this heavenly panorama of light.