Inca Trail

Walking the quarry trail in Ollantaytambo, Peru, took us under this magical Polylepis tree growing along the Urubamba River. At 9000 feet elevation, there are very few trees, and this one, with its gnarled moss-covered red branches reaching out from the shadows (everything you see here is one tree), took me right into fairytale land. I used rich expressive brushstrokes and a palette of golden and cool greens to reconstruct one of the rarest and strangest trees on the planet. 

This painting arrives ready to hang on a 1½-inch wrapped canvas with hand-painted edge.