Fire and Ice

This is a painting of a phenomenon that can happen at Horsetail Falls in Yosemite National Park the last two weeks of February every year, when the setting sun hits the water and spray of the falls at an angle that causes the water to glow a fiery orange red, and appear like molten lava. It will only happen if there are no clouds blocking the setting sun. I was fortunate to be there in February of 2020 when conditions were right that I was able to view and photography this spectacular event! I couldn't wait to get back to my studio to try to create with transparent watercolor on paper this amazing memory. I'm old enough to remember when the park used to display an artificial version of this miracle of nature by throwing burning embers off the top of Glacier Point on the other side of the valley after sundown most nights of the year. They called it the "Fire fall" which was extremely popular with tourists. The firefall program ended in 1968, after it was determined that it attracted too many tourists who were trampling the delicate meadow on the Valley floor to view the event. Having seen both versions, I can attest that the natural version at Horsetail Falls is much more impressive!