Behind the Painting: Mist

Mist began with blue.

I wanted to explore variations of the color and create something that felt calm. As I worked, the blues began to remind me of Alaska and the ocean—the coolness, distance, and vastness of those landscapes—but I wasn't trying to paint a particular place.

At that point, I was still experimenting with texture and deciding where the painting wanted to go. The composition began to change when I introduced the mist.

Suddenly, I wasn't simply looking at layers of blue anymore.

I felt as though I were looking into something.

The mist gave the painting a sense of depth that hadn't been there before. It created a place beyond the surface—a space I couldn't quite see clearly but wanted to explore.

What surprised me was that the uncertainty didn't feel unsettling. It felt peaceful.

I found myself wondering what might exist beyond the mist. The forms seemed to move somewhere between water, sky, and memory without becoming any one of them completely. There was enough suggestion to draw me in, but not enough information to provide an answer.

That sense of curiosity became important to the painting. I didn't need to know exactly what was there.

I only needed to want to keep looking.