And then the rains came....

As the rains of the week approach- and areas of Santa Barbara are again under pre-evacaution watch- I wanted to share this painting. It was done shortly after the first rain of the year and helped me process the debris flow. I was struck by the new colors in the hills after the silver of the ash was washed away and the sharpness of shadows whose edges had been buffered by vegetation before the fire. It reminded me of desert landscapes of the southwest that I had always thought would be lovely to paint but never imagined seeing here. It is the sister painting to the "Before the Rain" painting in Scorched Souls