This was painted during a period of inspiration a few days after driving 2,000 miles across country, solo and virtually nonstop. It is somewhat abstracted, from a sunset that burned into my memory. I painted it while my sons were at the movies, and briefly considered adding birds on the telephone wires and a man walking along the road with a suitcase. But at the time I lacked the skill to paint birds or people so I only did what I could.
    Later my sons came home and politely complimented the painting. The next morning my younger son, scrutinizing the painting, asked: "Why did you take out the birds and the man?" I had never so much as mentioned those things to him or anybody else. But to this day, more than 20 years later, he insists that when he first saw the painting there were birds on the telephone wires and a man with a suitcase walking on the road.