I was traveling west on Grand Loop Road towards Mammoth Hot Springs.  The day was mostly sunny.  Approximately four miles east of Mammoth Hot Springs, I exited to the roadside pulloff for Undine (pronounced UN deen) Falls.  The time was approximately 10:30 am.  With the sun in morning position, the view of the falls was magnificent.  The light was striking the north edge of the creek channel, while the west-facing dropoff was in full shade.  As with all of the creeks and rivers in the park during our visit, the flow of water in Lava Creek was prodigious.  A lot of snow fell on the park during the winter of 2008, and the snowmelt was extreme. 

My goal for this painting was to depict the beauty, action, and cold of Undine Falls.  The essence of this scene is powerful, rushing, cold water flowing through a typical Yellowstone environment, lodgepole pines and volanic rock. To accentuate the cool of the water, I exaggerated the warmth of the rocks.