Friday, January 29, 2016

Where the Sun Sets


Where the Sun Sets -- the latest in my "Art Under $300" series!

sunset,sundown,sun,Joshua Tree,National Park,CA,California,clouds,pink,orange,yellow,Mojave,desert,rock,formation,monzogranite
Where the Sun Sets                                        11" x 14"

The sun sets in the West, of course, and it actually sets further west than in Joshua Tree National Park (the sun sinks into the Pacific Ocean, as we all know!)

But as a fan of western movies, I've seen enough movie endings in which the hero rides off into the sunset; in fact, it's somewhat of a cliché. And as a fan of the desert, where better to depict a sunset than in the beauty of those vast spaces of the Southwestern desert?

This painting will be available for purchase later in the first week of February 2015 -- I still need to finish the coat of varnish and then give it adequate time to dry and harden. My website (and the specific page on which this artwork appears) is HERE.

Enjoy!

 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Dawn


Dawn is the latest in my series of "Under $300" paintings that I hope to have up on my website (SouthwestSpaces.com) in a week or so.

Joshua Tree,National park,dawn,sunrise,rock,formation,monzogranite,clouds,yellow,CA,California,desert,Mojave
Dawn                                      11" x 14"

It's rare that I get out of bed in the predawn hours; however, I wanted to be in Joshua Tree National Park to catch those first rays of sunlight streaming across the landscape. So -- I did it! I drove out there in December, 2014 close to winter solstice, when sunrise would be as late into the morning as it could get! (I'm such a night person!) It's nice to be only about 15 minutes from the Park.

No flowers at that time of year, and thankfully, it wasn't especially cold, either. (It WAS cold and cloudy  on the same day in 2015 -- I'm glad I aimed for the previous year!) Just the rock formations that climbers love to climb on, some desert scrub and those cool Joshua trees.

I've been trying to decide if I want to continue painting nothing but Joshua tree artworks, or if I need to vary my subject somewhat. If I could be more efficient with my time, I could do these much faster and not really have to make a choice!

But getting up before dawn would NOT help.