Angels Window Sunrise Panorama

I awoke in early morning darkness at my North Rim campsite and drove to the Walhalla Plateau through sub freezing temperatures and wind gusts. Clouds on the eastern horizon first began glowing like crimson embers slowly burning higher until igniting a burst of brilliant light and colors as the sun broke over the horizon and clouds. Its warm comforting light spilled into the new day and illuminated nearby Angel’s Window as most of the canyon remained in cool shadow. I photographed and painted that morning in solitude except for the company of a pair of juvenile Cooper’s hawks occasionally paying me curious visits and playing together as they darted throughout the cove towards Angel’s Window and soaring out over the canyon. Throughout a week of plein air painting, this brief sunrise created the most vivid memories and greatest inspiration for a larger studio piece. It also seemed most appropriate for 2021 as a hopeful new dawn following a long, stormy night.