Elmar Kits’s restless spirit led him on numerous journeys—both on foot during fishing trips across his homeland and on several foreign travels in the Greater Caucasus and Southeast Asia. Characteristically, Kits worked quickly and improvisationally while traveling, aiming to convey his immediate impressions of nature. The most important tool for this was his brushwork, whose dense ornamentation evenly distributes dozens of distinct color touches across the canvas.

Kits visited the Caucasus several times. The first was in 1947; the trip described here was his third, taking place in March 1963. He visited Estonian settlements as well as the mountains, experienced snowfall, painted anemones and hyacinths, and dreamt of Endel Kõks. This painting can likely be dated between March 18 and 22. Kits’s diary entry reads: “March 18. Gagra [a town in Abkhazia] is snowy. Bright houses with white roofs against a cobalt-green sea. The clouds seem grouped—perhaps the sun will appear later in the day. Only the green sea remains of the southern scenery.” In the following days, the storm receded; he observed the clouds carefully, noting their directions of movement, as can also be seen in the painting. Gradually, the sky cleared, the weather was cold, and then slowly warmed. Kits worked enthusiastically, producing several sketches.