Reflections on the Witch Fire

Now I'm back in New York and can reflect a little on my experience of working in the field in the remnants of the Witch Fire. I intended to paint the destruction in a manner that captured the beauty of nature - even in it's destructive moments - but to balance that with the fact that many people lost all that they owned except their lives. I was very aware of the burned piles that were once people's homes and made a decision not to paint them or put them in the center of the paintings.

What I did see was the path of water throughout the entire landscape. The land erodes with every rainfall and especially after a fire. This is more obvious observation. As I painted I could see this process throughout but what I found to be surprising is that because the water flows in the lower areas, the vegetation is more bountiful there. The irony is that during the fire, the lush areas had more fuel and therefore burned more thoroughly. I found this so odd that where there is bounty there is so much more room for destruction. I think that there are so many lessons in nature and we miss them so often.