Autumn is a special time of year. When the crisp cold air flows down from the north and the leaves explode into vibrant hues of orange, yellow and red, one gets a sense of time passing, of another year coming to an end. It is the last flash of color before the world falls into winter and the promise of spring’s rebirth begins.

Evening at Autumn Lake captures that time of year when the nights become long and the world readies itself for a nap under a snowy blanket. Thom loved this season for the color it provided his palette, but also for the mood it created in the mountains he roamed as a young man. My brother and I grew up in the Sierra-Nevada’s and that majestic range is where he first honed his immense talents as a landscape artist.

Evening at Autumn Lake is reminiscent of the years that Thom spent capturing that wonderment and the time given to dreaming that this work would someday be able to translate his feelings about the environment to everyone who viewed it. The small cabin in the mountain valley brims with life as horses are allowed to graze. Canoes, drawn ashore, await their passengers and the lights in the cabin windows speak of the commotion going on inside.

Evening at Autumn Lake reminds us that we should not only appreciate the beauty of the world but also that we recognize our opportunity to live harmoniously within it. God created “the garden” as a gift to man; mankind’s stewardship of God’s gift is an honor given back to the Creator. The wheel turns, the earth abides and we, here in our moment, are part of that cycle of life and the glory and triumph of its eternal renewal. - Patrick Kinkade