Crystal DiPietro

Light and Stone in Harmony Sway, Oil Painting

2025

Artist Comments
Fading sunlight casts warm orange hues across the mountain, while cool pastel tones settle in the shadows and desert brush below. In the foreground, a mix of pl...

Artist Comments
A panoramic view of peaks along the Utah/Colorado border. Crystal says she was inspired by a beautiful September hike up South Mountain in the La Sal Range in...

Artist Comments
From a high vantage point, rugged desert ridges and mountains unfold in vibrant spring colors. Loose washes of pink, green, yellow, and blue flow together, echo...

Artist Comments
Artist Crystal DiPietro shares a spectacular mountain desert view from a camping and hiking trip to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Rendered en plein air, Crystal captured the sierra's golden summit as the sun sets, its rays melting into the west. "The late afternoon light lit up the dramatic peaks with a warm glow."

About the Artist
Many artists work with the landscape, but Crystal DiPietro sees her works as different from most in the genre. "I tend not to see landscapes as soft and pretty, but as rugged, dramatic and colorful." Many of her works depict wild storms and moody sunsets. She spends a lot of time in remote spots and uses layers of color to create her compositions. Her work hovers between a brief impression of a scene and a pure dream. Crystal's landscapes of southern Utah seem to undulate and continuously change. What's interesting, though, is that these mountains and valleys seem to do the same thing in person. In these areas, the view changes constantly throughout the day as the light shifts, throwing shadows of faces, mazes and alien patterns across the cliff faces. Crystal impressively captures what's there, and what seems to be but isn't.

Words that describe this painting: mountains, desert, peaks, sunset, landscape, southwest, west, western, plein air, Mojave, Joshua Tree, shadow, impressionism, oilpaint, impressionism, landscape, western, oil painting, blue

Sunset Glow...