North America 45n 120w

Creative Rationale

Above the Columbia River Plateau in the inland Pacific Northwest, where the Cascade Mountains meet the high desert of eastern Washington and Oregon, unusual atmospheric conditions create a dynamic tension between tranquility and energy. The extremely low pressure (856 Pa) suggests an intense weather system, while the moderate easterly wind (3.9 m/s from 83 degrees) and frigid temperature (8.7 K) with its positive anomaly point to a winter storm's aftermath or high-altitude conditions. Following Sam Francis's approach to translating atmospheric energy into gestural abstraction, I've concentrated bold color pools along the edges—deep ultramarines and cadmium reds responding to the low pressure's heavy density—while the moderate wind creates controlled splatters that don't overwhelm the composition, leaving generous luminous white space in the center as Francis often did in his later works.