North America 45n 120w

Creative Rationale

Over the Columbia River Plateau in eastern Washington state, where high desert meets mountainous terrain, an extraordinarily cold air mass has settled with high humidity and calm winds. The extreme cold temperature of -3.4 K drives this composition toward Rothko's most contemplative palette of deep ultramarines and blacks, while the high humidity of 88% creates an inner luminosity that makes these dark fields seem to glow from within. The moderate wind from the west creates gentle, breathing edges between two primary color bands that fill the canvas with meditative weight.