There's a place here in South Lake Tahoe where unusually colored rocks, from deep burgundy to warm yellow, make up the bottom of the clear turquoise lake, creating a magical light and color spectacle that I haven't seen anywhere else before!

To describe such luminosity, I needed something that would let the light play within the paint layers just as it would in water.

Apart from being one of the most archival surfaces for oil painting, copper was a perfect match, providing both the reflective surface - a playground for light- and the color of those rocks themselves so that I could leave some parts of copper unpainted.

What you can't see in the photo is how the colors change with every shift in lighting and the subtle metallic luster under just the right angle. These kinds of things are impossible to photograph, you'll just have to take my word for it:)

• Oil on copper panel, 24”x18” (61 x 46 cm)

• The copper panel is 1/8” thick, unframed.

• A certificate of authenticity is included.