"Sandias - Elena Gallegos Facing Northwest" is an oil painted en plein air at the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Painted with a palette knife, the sunlight hits the granite peaks of the Sandias & cascades down to the foothills. Junipers & sage grace the landscape with touches of Indian paintbrush in red-orange. The mountains turn shades of deep blue & purple as the afternoon sun & clouds pass over.