First Fall Snow Painting Full View Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting in Living Space Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting Above Shelf and Dinosaur Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting Outdoors Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting White Background Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting Right Corner Angle Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting Close Up Caley Van Cleave
First Fall Snow Painting Close Up of Peak Caley Van Cleave

'First Fall Snow' | Original Painting | Chasing Winter Collection

$1,395.00

It’s a pure joy to witness the first snow layered over the magical fall colors in our Colorado mountains. The initial snow dusting often allows the aspen’s bright colors to peak through for just a few days. This is our mountain equivalent of fully ripened fruit and should be savored. I felt a strong desire to capture this shifting of season and retiring of color from our great western landscapes here at home. Bold brush strokes of fall oranges, reds, and yellows come into transition with the cooler hues of winter snow. While this change in warm colors to cool tones can feel unsettling, it also brings a quieter beauty to our surrounding space. May you feel the reverence for nature’s ever changing seasons.

Artwork Details:

  • Medium: Professional Golden & Liquitex heavy-body acrylics

  • Surface: Canvas

  • Size: 20 × 20 × 1.5 inches

  • Protection: Golden Isolation Coat + UV-protective Liquitex satin varnish

  • Signatures & Authentication: Hand-signed by the artist on back and front of the piece; includes an official Certificate of Authenticity.

Chasing Winter Collection

This year, the snow didn’t show up, so I went into the studio and made my own. This collection is a heartfelt attempt to conjure the snow I couldn’t find on the peaks. From electric blues to neon whites, these pieces are how I filled the cup that the mountains left empty. It’s my way of finding the healing quiet of the powder even when the ground stayed bare. It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s the only way I knew how to survive a winter that wasn’t. I hope you can feel the soul of the winter I so damn wished for in every stroke. Take a look at other pieces in this Chasing Winter Collection here.

All original paintings are final sale. If you have questions about the artwork, reach out to me.

It’s a pure joy to witness the first snow layered over the magical fall colors in our Colorado mountains. The initial snow dusting often allows the aspen’s bright colors to peak through for just a few days. This is our mountain equivalent of fully ripened fruit and should be savored. I felt a strong desire to capture this shifting of season and retiring of color from our great western landscapes here at home. Bold brush strokes of fall oranges, reds, and yellows come into transition with the cooler hues of winter snow. While this change in warm colors to cool tones can feel unsettling, it also brings a quieter beauty to our surrounding space. May you feel the reverence for nature’s ever changing seasons.

Artwork Details:

  • Medium: Professional Golden & Liquitex heavy-body acrylics

  • Surface: Canvas

  • Size: 20 × 20 × 1.5 inches

  • Protection: Golden Isolation Coat + UV-protective Liquitex satin varnish

  • Signatures & Authentication: Hand-signed by the artist on back and front of the piece; includes an official Certificate of Authenticity.

Chasing Winter Collection

This year, the snow didn’t show up, so I went into the studio and made my own. This collection is a heartfelt attempt to conjure the snow I couldn’t find on the peaks. From electric blues to neon whites, these pieces are how I filled the cup that the mountains left empty. It’s my way of finding the healing quiet of the powder even when the ground stayed bare. It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s the only way I knew how to survive a winter that wasn’t. I hope you can feel the soul of the winter I so damn wished for in every stroke. Take a look at other pieces in this Chasing Winter Collection here.

All original paintings are final sale. If you have questions about the artwork, reach out to me.

Imagine walking into your room on a quiet morning and being greeted by the vibrant magic of an autumnal mountain dusted in crisp white snow.

First Fall Snow brings the electrifying energy of Colorado’s most fleeting season straight into your home. The vivid clash of autumn’s fiery golds and fiery reds against the fresh, cool winter snow creates a dynamic focal point that instantly warms your room. It’s like bottling up that rare, bittersweet magic of a mountain season in transition—a burst of warmth, color, and life that brightens your space every single day.

How This Piece Will Feel in Your Space

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How This Piece Will Feel in Your Space *

Living with First Fall Snow is a gentle, daily invitation to embrace life’s natural shifts and savor the present moment.

As you pause in front of this canvas, the bold harmony between warm fall leaves and cool winter frost offers a soothing internal exhale. It serves as a personal reminder that transition—though fleeting and dynamic—holds a quiet, sacred beauty of its own. It inspires a deep sense of presence, encouraging you to stop, breathe, and fully savor life’s sweetest moments right as they happen before they slip away into memory.

Behind the Craftsmanship

Every original painting is a labor of love, built from the ground up using only professional, museum-quality materials. All pieces are crafted to endure for generations in your home.

  • The Foundation & Palette: I paint on premium, archival wood panels or heavy-duty canvas, using highly pigmented Golden and Liquitex professional acrylics. These paints are chosen for their incredible lightfastness and rich, heavy-body textures, allowing the vibrant, unexpected colors and abstract images to pop off the surface.

  • The Preservation Layer: Once the painting is complete, I apply a crucial archival step: a Golden Isolation Coat. This permanent, glossy, transparent layer seals the acrylic paint permanently, acting as a physical shield that protects the actual brushwork from the environment.

  • The Final Touch: To finish each piece, I apply a premium Liquitex Satin Varnish. This provides a beautiful, soft sheen that enhances the depth of the colorful landscape without distracting glare. It also offers vital UV protection and allows the surface to be safely cleaned in the future if needed.

  • Provenance & Authentication: Each original piece is hand-signed on the back for official authentication as well as my painted signature on the front of the piece. Your painting will also arrive with a separate, official Certificate of Authenticity to accompany the piece for your records. 

By investing in these specialized, multi-step preservation techniques, I ensure that the dreamlike energy, texture, and crisp brush strokes of your favorite painting remain as vivid and flawless decades from now as they were the day they left my mountain studio.

Meet The Artist

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Meet The Artist *

Howdy! I’m Caley Van Cleave a Colorado-based artist, lifelong rambler, and a self-proclaimed color maximalist. Inspired by the vastness of the American West, I take sketches and memories from my outdoor adventures and dial up the intensity—bringing the hidden purples of a sunrise snowbank and the electric joy of the wild straight to the canvas.

From my home base at 9,000 feet in Silverthorne, CO, or out on the road in my Airstream, I paint to capture the emotional impact of rugged mountain sunshine and red clay canyons. If it’s bright, bold, and celebrates our stunning natural world, I’m enamored by it.

You won’t find any beige here. I bring the ridiculous, joyful color combinations of our wild spaces directly to the canvas so you can celebrate a world of beautiful, vibrant adventure right in your own space.

LEARN MORE

Where To Buy In Real Life

2026 Breckenridge Fine Arts Festival

July 2, 3, and 4th - Breckenridge, Colorado

August 6, 7, and 8th - Breckenridge, Colorado

2026 Boulder Art Festival

September 5th and 6th - Pearl Street Mall - Boulder, Colorado (Labor Day Weekend)

2026 Fall Arts Invitational at Cheesman Park

October 3rd and 4th - Cheesman Park - Denver, Colorado

Come say howdy in person! I’d love to meet you and share these delightful contemporary landscape paintings with you in real life (IRL for the win!).

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