In Joshua Tree the red sun drops from the desert sky in this wild and untamed setting. If you listen carefully, you can hear the ‘nightlife’ waking up as the hikers and campers settle in for the night. Critters scurry around in the shadows, cast by these smooth and funky boulders.
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Spring was brushed onto the Anza Borrego Desert landscape in an astonishing palette of color during this springtime hike. This cluster of succulents and flowers presented themselves as an unlikely bouquet, pushing their way up through breaks in the arid soil…serving as the perfect subject to paint!
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Like a company of flamenco dancers, these brilliant California poppies sway proudly in a pool of afternoon light. Dressed in a deep orange that is stunning against the arid landscape, they tantalize pollinators with their “copas de oro,” or cups of gold.
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These busy Harvester Ants look like they are rushing toward the entrance to an underground womb. Indeed, their precious eggs lie hidden just beneath the surface of the ground, and the colony’s main goal is to ensure its survival. Here, they are busy harvesting seeds, which is where they derive the title of harvester.
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At first glance, this is a painting of a Manzanita tree on a beautiful Southern California hillside. By now we have learned to look harder, however, and this closer examination reveals many tiny bees buzzing around the flowers of this tree.
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In Death Valley, where the distant patter of rain is long forgotten and must sometimes seem like a dream, a barrel cactus cheerfully blooms amid the cracked mud. As the top layer of earth peels away, it takes on the appearance of smooth shaved chocolate and reveals a deeper and equally impenetrable layer below.
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These sculpted bookends depict the mountains found in Death Valley, called Artist’s Palette. I was inspired to sculpt them in part because of their colors, but the real thing that got my attention was the top of the mountains, which looked like chocolate sprinkles on top of an ice cream sundae- which is why I call them dessert!
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These sculptured bookends depict a stunningly beautiful, lesser known cove on Catalina Island, called Howland’s Landing , which is on the opposite end of the island from Avalon. Look closely and see if you can see the blue roofs of the cabins, which sit on the beach side. On the right side of the sculpture sits Emerald Cove, which has some of the best snorkeling on the Pacific coast.
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This sculpture of Kauai depicts the volcanic nature of the island. Lava flows are still present and lend a natural beauty to the earth’s red foundation. When sculpting this island, it was great fun to learn about Kauai’s canyons, its famous Napali Coast, and its cheery lighthouse. The island’s volcanic geology and geography have captured [...]
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