Contemporary Abstract Expressionism I Storm Over the Heath

This painting is dominated by a huge, dramatic sky. Big billowing white clouds rise on both sides against patches of bright sky blue, and at the top centre a dark plume of charcoal and black pushes upward like smoke or a thunderhead. Right beneath that dark cloud, the sky catches fire. Gold, coral, and red flare out across the middle in a horizontal band, with thick white highlights where the light is strongest. A smaller streak of gold and white reaches in from the left edge. It looks like a sunset lighting up the underside of the clouds, or a flash of light inside a storm. Lower down, the sky softens into pale blue and lilac haze before meeting a bright horizon line. Below it lies a band of land in gold, red, and deep violet-black, like autumn heath or a shoreline lit by the evening sun. The bottom third is still water in white, pale grey, and soft blue, with the red and gold reflected faintly and dark shapes dripping downward. The clouds and water are softly blended with a brush, while the light and land are laid on thickly with a knife, so the bright areas have real texture. It reads as a storm passing over a lake at sunset, with the last light setting the clouds and shoreline alight.