A View from the Poppy Reserve

Rummaging through my photo files, I returned to my visit at the California Poppy Reserve last spring.  We drove through winding canyon roads for a couple of hours to come to the open space and hills near Lancaster, California, where the acres of blooms were in full and colorful display.  Golden hills, Yellow and purple hills.  Winds of 50 mph (really!), cold, scudding clouds, shadows racing across the landscape.  My hands were so cold it was almost impossible to hold the camera!

Here is the preliminary sketch.

And here is the final painting.  It rather lacks depth of field, but it does have the intensity of color I remember of the day.