This is my largest piece to date. I completed it in mid-October of 2021. It comes directly from the series started with the Arapaho Bend Abstraction earlier in the year, and like that piece takes the basic composition from a photo I took while out plein air painting (the landscape photo included here). I painted on a recycled hollow-core door to allow me to work large, with a lot of texture, without adding a lot of weight. At this time, I was playing with the idea of the interplay of control and chaos (something all teachers and many others have been dealing with since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic). I began with a coat of white house paint, then drew the main elements of the landscape's composition with vine charcoal (a controlled process). Next, I thinned down black acrylic paint, and reinforced these initial lines, letting the paint drip (adding chaos). I added collaged torn paper from old books, as well as poly pellets (used for making bean bags) in gel medium, and drew on certain areas with pencil. I also turned the painting upside down. I then switched to oil paint, using the controlled technique called glazing to add thin transparent layers of color, thinking of stained glass. The interplay of controlled and chaotic technique, and the desire to find beauty in that experience, is the perfect metaphor for my experiences since March of 2020.