The Color of Morning

20” x 16”
Oil on Canvas
2026

I grew up beneath the shadow of the Lewis Range. I've watched storms roll across these mountains, seen them hidden in clouds, and watched the sun set behind them more times than I could ever count.

Yet it wasn't the mountains that caught my attention that morning.

It was the pink.

For just a few moments before sunrise, a soft wash of rose-colored light settled across the peaks and prairie. The colors were so delicate they almost seemed imagined, as if the mountains were still deciding whether to wake or continue dreaming. The harsh edges of the landscape softened, and everything became quiet.

Most people think of Montana in terms of dramatic vistas and rugged beauty. What draws me back again and again are moments like this—brief, subtle changes in light that transform a familiar place into something entirely new.

I painted this scene not because of the mountains, but because of the color that found them.

— Bob Parsons