We're Off to See the Lizard

We're Off to See the Lizard is a portrait of a side-blotched lizard, a very common species here in the Southwest. What I like about them is they have all of the colors of the Southwest: rusty red, earth tones and turquoise blue. This group of color is my favorite combination and explains, in part, what it is I love about the desert so much!

These lizards are small: about 6"/15cm from tip-of-nose to end-of-tail, and are quite prolific. For that reason, they commonly end up in the bellies of roadrunners which, depending on whether you favor the predators or the prey, leaves you feeling either indifferent or sad.

I included some Anasazi pottery shards that a Native American friend collected for me in Arizona. (She tells me these shards are scattered all over the desert floor in certain parts of AZ). The lizard, of course, is entirely unaware of these relics of man's presence, and seeks only to continue its business of searching for food or, possibly, a mate.

He's Out of My Life

The Michael Jackson memorial service was earlier today. I wasn't able to watch all of it; in fact, I saw only bits and pieces.

I was surprised at how low key the event turned out to be. I almost expected more of a concert with dancing in the aisles, lots of flash photography and other concert activities. Instead, people seemed to display a reverent attitude; that -- indeed -- the fans' hero was gone and wasn't coming back; and the focus was on the man's artistic accomplishments, not on the occasions when Michael had personal and legal battles that seemed to knock him off of his King of Pop throne.

I've always felt Michael Jackson was a phenomenal performer, although -- merely a personal preference -- during his earliest years with the Jackson Five, his voice was a little too shrill for me, kind of like fingernails against a chalkboard. But his voice softened as he grew older, and his singing and dancing evolved into an art form that was truly his own. He was amazing to watch and listen to, and I'm sorry we'll never get to see what he might have accomplished had he lived to launch his comeback tour in the UK.

But -- Michael documented LOTS of CDs and videos, so we're not likely to forget his artistry. And whatever his life was like, tortured or not, I hope he's in a better place today, leading the choirs of heaven in both song and dance.

I'm one of millions who will miss ya, MJ!

(The photo is from this morning's memorial service showing Queen Latifah at the podium. Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP/MCTMARK J. TERRILL/AP/MC).

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to all!!!

Sorry this isn't a picture of fireworks -- I have some on 35mm slides, but no digital pix of them. However, this is an "experiment" -- an abstract painting I thought I would try. It sort of looks like it's exploding!

Night Shift

Night Shift is a new painting that shows a scene in Joshua Tree National Park in California. The size is 11" x 14"/28cm x 36cm, and the coyote is a little over an inch/2.5cm long.

This piece shows the influence of both the American 19th century Hudson River School artists and the 20th century surrealists on my work. In my own mind, sometimes it makes a nice combination!

Monsoons

It's monsoon season again. I'm not sure if it's my imagination, but it seems like it's earlier than usual.

Monsoon season is what we in the Southwest get during the summer. Moist tropical air from the gulf of Mexico works its way north into Arizona, which often results in summer thunderstorms and rain. Further west in the California deserts, however, we don't get the rain as often. We mostly just get the humidity -- lots of it!

So we don't always get the dry heat that deserts are famous for. In fact, it feels very tropical and muggy around here. The skies remind me of the heavy, moisture-laden landscapes of the Old Master Dutch paintings, and in fact are the types of skies I typically paint.

I like the way these skies look, I just don't like the way it feels!

Unfortunately, we don't have air-conditioning. We have an evaporative cooler. Most of the time it's more than adequate, but when it's humid, it barely cools at all.

So we're in a good news/bad news situation. The good news: I have lots of reference material for painting skies. The bad news: the weather is miserable, and so is this artist right now!

The photos above look across the valley in which we live. In place of those deep-blue cloudless skies, we have atmospheric hazes that separate the overlapping mountains, along with the cloud shadows and spots of light that dramatize the land. And clouds. Lots of 'em!

Dates with Eternity

David Carradine. Ed McMahon. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson.

I know we're all destined to face eternity. I just didn't think so many were going to do so at the same time. Who knows...Patrick Swayze's turn may be coming up.

Rest in peace, folks.

Goin' to Town!

Most of the saguaro cactus I've seen in bloom usually had the flowers at or near the tops of the branches or main trunk (like the one on the right in the top left photo). But THIS particular specimen here in town is goin' to town, with flowers all over the upper portions of the cactus!