NARRATIVE: As the largest U.S. state and the 49th to join the Union, Alaska is rich in history, resources and beauty. More than half its area, which is larger than the next three largest states of Texas, California and Montana combined, is federally-protected land of national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. It's extreme weather and rugged landscapes make it a challenging place to live, but indigenous peoples have done so for thousands of years.

June in Alaska is a time of transition from the depth of winter into the birth of spring. The snow starts to melt leaving varied patterns of brilliant green cascading through the landscape in abstract rhythmical designs, it almost feels as though you are looking as music written upon a page. The blue of the mountains seems to glow brilliant with the hint of glacier ice and animals start to emerge from the hills to signal this change of season. It is my favorite time in Alaska filled with inspiration and possibility. This view was painted from the mountains of Alyeska. I did a small study from life at the top of the mountain and then completed this larger painting in the studio.