David Gallup
52 California Sunsets: #48- November 27, 1999
After the Fire
By mid spring I had observed a formula for sunset clouds which helped me to capture sunsets quickly and accurately: "After the sun has set, clouds nearest the horizon will be the brightest and most yellow. As they get higher in the sky they become gradually more orange, and then more pink, and eventually purple, getting darker as they go." Simple physics, once you understand it, so you should always be able to rely on it. But rules are made to be broken and the low, dark purple cloud in this painting is that break. The reason? It is not a cloud like the others, but smoke from a nearby wildfire.