Reproductions of Nightlife in Joshua Tree  are available through my retail partner, Fine Art America. You’ll have the option of purchasing a high quality Giclee canvas or print reproduction, as well as customizable greeting cards.

Additionally,  Nightlife in Joshua Tree can be purchased through our Gallery’s Gift Shop, on Personalized Gift Products such as quality mugs, magnets, ceramic tiles, coasters and more. These offerings are intended to introduce the Western Trails Series to you on a variety of mediums.

Original oil painting on canvas by Kathy Shute-  Environment Artist

Description written by Heather Rice-  Anthropological Environmentalist

Are you looking for an easel you can take with you anywhere? I’m an artist on the go and I absolutely love this portable artist easel. I use the The Marquis Artists Desk Easel at home and I take it outside, too. If you’ve got an artist in your family, it’s a great gift. If YOU’RE the artist, it’s a great gift for you!

Read on to see why I like it so much.

Compact & Portable

As you can see on this website, I work in oils on canvas. And oddly enough, I don’t care to sit at a traditional artist easel. Instead, I tend to paint while sitting on the sofa or outside on my balcony. So I set my easel up on a footstool next to me – wherever I am. (Come to think of it, maybe I’m a restless artist– which makes sense since I paint scenes of nature that I find inspiring while out hiking!)

Anyway, for me the portability goes even further than this. I travel around the U.S. quite a bit, and I usually pack a canvas and this easel with me. It fits into my Honda nicely and holds all of my paints. I also bring a little clear tote for my brushes, rags and turps. The tote seals in any smells, too. With this travel kit I can set up on a picnic table while camping or bring it to my family’s home.

Even if you’re an artist who doesn’t move around much, this easel works well just sitting on a table or desk. It adjusts up or down to suit the angle you prefer, and holds a good sized canvas; I’ve used it with a 14″x18″ canvas, which is larger than the manufacturer suggests. (That said, if you like to work on really large paintings, a traditional easel, like the American Easel Oak Maestro Easel-Golden Finish may be a better fit for you.)

It’s lightweight and compact…and ready to go whenever you are!

Roomy and Secure Storage

The other feature you’ll like is the amount of storage room inside the hidden drawer. I have about 24 tubes of paint, and it holds them all!  And it’s versatile, whether you work in oils, acrylic or watercolor…you just pull the drawer out to the side and everything is nicely organized for you. I tend to be an ‘organized artist’ so I put all the reds and oranges in one section, the yellows in another, and so on.

All this storage is great, but you want to make sure your paints stay organized when carrying the easel around, right? No problem here, as I particularly like the way the clasp keeps the paint drawer closed. This way I can carry it around with me with no fear of spilling my paints.

Quality Construction

I’ve had my The Marquis Artists Easel for about 12 years now, and it’s still in great condition! In fact, I’d say it’s almost like new…other than the paint smudges on it. It lasts so well because it’s constructed from wood and it has metal joints. This means that in order to break it, either the hard metal joints have to give in or a piece of the easel has to break in half. I doubt this would happen, since mine’s taken some abuse from me.

This easel is right for you if

You tend to paint on small to medium sized canvases, you’re a mobile painter, and you like a quality product at a very reasonable price.

Description from Amazon.com:

“Both portable and compact this desk easel features a folding easel that adjusts to four positions. The Marquis can accommodate a canvas or drawing board up to 14 inches wide. Cleverly designed it has a drawer with three compartments to hold brushes paints pencils scissors and other essential gear. The drawer latches securely for storage or during trips. Folded dimensions are 13-1/4 inches wide by 10-1/2 inches high by 2-3/4 inches deep. Very light weight. Includes a wooden palette that fits into the drawer and comes with a sturdy handle for carrying.”

Features and Benefits of the Marquis Artist Desk Easel:

• A portable miniature desk that converts to a painting easel
• An easel that adjusts to four different positions
• Has a drawer with three compartments to hold brushes, and other essential gear
• Cleverly designed and light-weight yet sturdy
• Handle for ease in carrying

Accommodates canvas art and prints up to 11 x 14 inches (I’ve used 14 x 18 inch canvases)

If you’d like to learn more about the The Marquis Artists Desk Easel you can read more reviews or buy it on Amazon. Also, if instead you’re looking for larger, stationary easel I recommend that you check out the American Easel Oak Maestro Easel-Golden Finish.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found my brief review helpful. If you do buy it I get a small commission but you get it for the same price as you would have anyway. Happy painting!

Open Spaces in Orange County CA

In a time where open space is constantly being devoured by developers, it’s a breath of fresh air to read about a 20,000 acre land grant. In June 2010 The Irvine Company gifted this acreage, to be called the Irvine Ranch Open Space, to Orange County Parks System. The grant encompasses six wilderness areas, averaging about 3,300 acres each.

The Irvine Company owns a significant portion of Orange County that covers the former Irvine Ranch – dating back to the ranching days in California’s history. They are the county’s single largest developer of residential, commercial and retail properties. They are unique in that they also have a philanthropic side – donating and setting aside other land preserves throughout the years.

This grant is of special interest to me because I love to hike in areas like these, gathering inspiration for my paintings. Limestone Canyon, which is known as the “Grand Canyon of Orange County”, is a significant part of this grant. My husband and I have hiked into this beautiful, multi-colored landscape on occasion, but found entry into it difficult. It’s my hope that it will become more accessible to hikers in the future.

An exciting aspect of this gift is that it represents a 50% land increase in the Orange County Park’s land holdings. The arrangement also demonstrates an ongoing partnership between the Parks Commission and the Irvine Company’s Ranch Conservancy – demonstrating that big business and land preservation groups can work together hand in hand. Thank you, Irvine Company!

Re-Creating the Desert on Canvas

I’d started along a familiar trail in the Anza Borrego Desert CA, and as always, I had my eye out for that unique element in nature that would inspire me to paint. Approaching the path in the warming sun, I rounded a bend and saw the many sprinklings of flowering desert plants that dotted the ground like confetti. The beauty stopped me in my tracks. I’d been to the desert many times, but had never seen so many flowers blooming all at once.

As I looked closer, I was impressed by the ocotillo, with its’ tall, spiny columns adorned with tassels of brilliant red. There were a variety of succulents and cacti that were topped with dashes of color. Standing amidst the colorful landscape my eyes rested upon this particular grouping of cactus, so full of open, pink blossoms that it reminded me of a bouquet of flowers.

These beckoning blossoms created such a beautiful sight that I knew I had to paint them. I asked my photographer husband to ‘take a few photos’ (what amounted to a full photo shoot). Later, armed with a portfolio of photos, I was excited to get going and bring them to life on canvas.

My artistic style falls into the category of painting called realism, meaning that I paint detailed work where my subjects look a lot like a photograph. What makes my work unique is that I add touches of surrealism. For me that means I add certain elements to the painting that weren’t there in real life.

With the Springtime Succulence painting, I carefully recreated the cactus, hand scaling its’ trademark funky shapes. Then, with my brushes I painted a base coat of green oxide for the pads, finally adding shading and highlights several times. I paint in oils so this is a slow process, as I need to allow the paint to dry between each layer. I then added the spines. In order to make them look real I took a razor knife loaded with paint and sliced the color on, then came back and added the shadow at the base of each spine – this was a time intensive process, with about 20 spines on each of the sixteen pads! Not a problem though, as I enjoy the details. Of course, the finishing touch was to create the pink blossoms. I painted about 9 layers of white, pink and crimson to capture the nuances of the flower.

With the cactus complete, I moved onto the ground, where I added the barrel cactus and the cholla. Neither of these were in the original photos, but they were scattered around the landscape and I felt like they’d add an element of perspective for the prickly pear. The cholla’s tiny, collective spines glistened a golden-white from the afternoon sun, and it took several tries to get the feel just right in the painting’s foreground.
The last element I decided to add was the Cactus Wren, who also wasn’t in the photo either. I put him in because I’m intrigued by how these birds create several homes in such a spiny space. I’m told that several of the nests add as decoys against potential predators. I can picture him clenching numerous twigs in his beak and carefully placing one after another into a crevasse between the pads. As I carefully painted the details of his feathers, beak and eyes, I reflected on the patience it must take for him to do his job, too.

With the wren perched proudly on the pad, I added finishing touches such as filling in the earth, adding in some strewn twigs, rocks and a few fallen pieces of cholla. I’ve always found it interesting that you see broken fragments of cactus littering the earth at the base of a living one, as this is how they reproduce. Finally, I painted my signature beetle onto the rock in the foreground of the painting. All in all it takes me about 100 hours to complete one painting like this.

It’s my hope that my Western Trails Fine Art Collection inspires viewers to keep the adventure in their lives, and also to look at the elements in nature like this cactus closely, so they can see a hint of the greater ecosystem in which they live. By understanding of the interdependence within these elements of nature, we appreciate our own relationship to it, remembering to not only celebrate its’ beauty but to support its’ preservation through our awareness.

Looking at the videos I was awestruck and felt like it could represent a chorus of “Happy Birthday” sung to our earth!

Photo of Succulents - No Cactus Here!

The following post was written by Daiv Freeman, a friend and cactus expert.

It is said all that glitters is not gold. It can also be said that all
that’s sharp is not a cactus. These statements seem obvious, but we can take it one step further and say that all plants that are succulent and covered in thorns or prickles are not all cactus either. After all, we know that rose bushes have prickles, but we don’t confuse them for cactus.. Even so, there are many plants that get mistakenly referred to as cactus plants that are just as distant from a true cactus as is a rose bush.

This article will  examine the common factors which lead to this error, and discuss the unique features of cactus that will help us avoid errors. As mentioned above, every “spiky” plant is not a cactus. In my experience, there are two other main factors, in addition to the presence of spines or thorns which lead to this mistaken identity. One factor is succulence – meaning plants with thickened stem or leaf tissue used for storing water. The other has to do with the plant’s location, specifically those that live in a desert setting. Of these three factors – “spikes”, succulence, and habitat -succulence contributes to the most misidentification, followed by “spikes”, and finally desert habitat. When any of  these factors are combined, such as both succulent and living in the desert – or even all three factors – then the chances that a plant will be considered a “cactus” increases dramatically!

If you’re following me so far, you’ll see that a plant that is succulent, has “spikes”, and lives in a desert is not necessarily a cactus. If you came to this conclusion, you are absolutely right! Just as a rose has “spikes”, but isn’t a cactus, so there are succulent plants with “spikes” that live in deserts that are not cacti either. Next, let’s consider these categories and the type of plants that might fit into them but are also not cactus.

Most plants that grow in the desert have “spikes” to protect them or succulence to survive. For this reason there aren’t many opportunities to make the error of calling a plant a cactus simply because it lives in the desert. Some Bromeliads might fit this description, however, their habitat isn’t quite the stereotypical desert, they don’t have “spikes” and are not “succulent”. I have had people ask about a “cactus”, which turned out to be a Bromeliad. Similarly, some “spiky” plants such as thistles have been mistaken for cactus even though they are not succulent and do not grow in the desert. Some “spiky” plants that do grow in the desert that are often confused for cactus are  – Agave, Yucca, and Fouquieria. Likewise, there are succulent desert plants such as Echiveria, Dudleya, and Lithops and although these plants are not all strictly desert dwellers, many are still mistakenly called cactus due to their succulent stems or leaves. Now if we take all three factors, we find one non-cactus plant that fits this situation better than those in the genus  Euphorbia. Several species in this genus look so much like a “cactus”, that only an experienced grower can spot the difference without much scrutiny!  I’ve listed just a few of the possible impostors here, and there are many others.

As you see there are many different plants that share characteristics with cactus, but are not actually cactus plants. That leaves us begging the question, “What then makes a plant a cactus?” First lets consider our three factors above. All cacti have succulent stems (or in a few cases leaves), but not all species live in the desert and not all species are “spiky”. It makes sense then, that succulence is the most prominent factor in misidentifications. Yet, even in combination, we’ve already established that these factors do not uniquely distinguish a cactus.

The structure that all cactus have that no other plant share is the areole. Areoles are a specialized structures on the stem of a cactus out of which the flowers, spines, and new stem segments are grown. Most of the times they just look like white dots along the stem,  which are often fuzzy. Again, not all cactus have spines present, but those that do have them will have them sticking out of an areole. You may have noticed that every time I mentioned the word “spiky” above, I put it in quotes. This is because, like areoles, spines are also unique to cactus so I could not use the term spines for a general description of various plants and cacti do not have thorns. A close look at other “spiky” plants will reveal that the thorns are contiguous with the stem or branch they are attached to unlike the cactus with a spine or spines sticking out of an areole. This sounds like a sure fire way to ID any cactus plant as a cactus, but in some species, the areoles are very hard to notice. This is especially true in epiphytic “jungle” cacti that grow hanging from trees in rain-forests -most people are familiar with at least one cactus of this type, the Christmas Cactus.

Finally, even armed with this information, it won’t be immediately apparent to the beginner which succulent, “spiky” plant is a cactus and which is one of the others we mentioned. However, just knowing that there is a difference will give you a big advantage. Many people have e-mailed me saying that they had searched through hundreds of images,
but just couldn’t find a match for their plant. When I inform them that their plant isn’t even a cactus, it comes as a big surprise. So the next time you are on a quest for a succulent ID that you think is a cactus, take a moment to first make certain it actually is a cactus!

Daiv owns and runs a very popular Cactus Guide web site called CactiGuide.com

The Gingerbread Gallery

Happy New Year, everyone!

This year I had the opportunity to learn how to make a Gingerbread House, or in this case a Gallery. I knew my daughter Heather had experience in building gingerbread houses in the past, so I invited her teach me how to make one.

Only about 10 hours later and it came to life! For those who may be wondering, the roof is made of fruit rollups, the floor is gingerbread like the rest of the house, the icicles are icing. The snowman is made of solid chocolate and was given to us by a friend. Yes, we’ll be eating that one soon! The shrubs and trees are all sprigs of evergreen taken from a wreath another friend gave to us. If you look closely (see 2nd photo below), you can get a glimpse of the ‘paintings’ hanging on the walls; these are actually my magnets, which we baked into the gingerbread shell! (Magnets are available from our gift shop.) The path is made from mocha brickle, and the gallery sits on a base that is covered in icing. To complete this Christmas vignette, we sprinkled coconut flakes on the ground and roof, and added Christmas tree lights to the interior, with two that poke through the wall, lighting up the sign. The goal was to create a ‘sustainable house’, in the sense of being able to eat or re-use all parts of it.

We did have a few unnerving moments when constructing the gallery. The roof was determined to slide off, so Rich helped us out by putting a few wooden skewers up under the eaves while the icing set. That did the trick! Oh, and the beautiful red tulips (in the top photo) were a gift from another friend. Thanks to all for your contributions in making this holiday treat.

We may not have snow in Orange County, but we were able to bring some traditional New England festivity to the holiday with this gingerbread house. And just about the time the other holiday treats are eaten, we’ll have this house to nibble on. Thanks for stopping by!

A Closer Look

Morro Bay at Sunset

Hello all! This post celebrates the official launch of the Western Trails Web Site. While my site is primarily about my art, I’m also going to share stories about nature and our environment that inspire me.

So here it goes. In this post you get to meet a unique and truly amazing team called “The Catalina Island Ambassadors of the Environment” – AOTE for short. I was first introduced to them by my daughter, Heather. Every year the AOTE members and their energetic leader, Travis, organize and participate in the Sustainable Living Bike Tour, which lasts for about 3 weeks during late November.

I’m not sure what impresses me the most about AOTE members – their physical stamina, their dedication to the environmental cause, or their commitment to our states’ schoolchildren. You see, these 15-18 environmental leaders cycle 750 miles down the coast of California – beginning in San Francisco and ending in San Diego! They’re on an outreach mission and they visit 14-18 schools along their route. They teach children about environmental sustainability including topics such as gardening and composting, turning organic waste into edible resources, alternative transportation, human impacts on coastal ecosystems, and greening our states’ schools.

For the past few years my husband and I have hosted groups of AOTE members in our home for one night. We serve a feast of yummy food to help re-fuel them as they pedal through Orange County. This year their route took them west of our home,  so we dropped by their host home with some macaroni and cheese for dinner.

While weather in Southern California is usually dry and perfect, it does rain here on occasion and the day before it had been absolutely pouring. I asked one member, Lissa, how they’d managed to bike through the downpour. Instead of focusing on the negatives, Lissa pointed out that it wasn’t so bad as peddling creates heat! She then shared a story about the school they’d just visited in the L.A. area, and how absolutely dedicated, informed, and energetic the students were about the environment. What was so impressive about the students is that they live in an area that ranks as the 3rd worst in the U.S. for air quality! Talk about dedication – those students are a great example for all of us.

I chatted with another AOTE member who shared a less inspiring story. While biking alongside the Pacific Ocean, she was saddened to see a large swath of storm drain runoff polluting the ocean. This often happens when it rains in Southern California as the drainage and treatment plants become overburdened. Unfortunately this pollution can cause serious infections and surfers and swimmers are required to stay out of the water during those times.

As I sat by the flickering fireplace with a glass of wine and a delicious organic meal, I reflected on these two contrasting stories, and enjoyed the camaraderie of friends. They are courageous, yet they don’t take themselves too seriously; you always hear the soft strum of guitars, a sweet melody being sung in harmony, and laughter ringing wherever they travel. I don’t know about you, but inspiration is what moves me to get out of my own comfort zone – and that’s what this engaging evening inspired me to do in  sharing this story here.

Bike Trip Team

I always appreciate any feedback or thoughts, and I encourage you to check out the Annual Sustainable Living Bike Tour blog. ‘Til next time, cheers, and great work again, to the AOTE team!

Many annual plants grow from hardy dormant seeds that only germinate after rain moistens them, and then bloom briefly before retreating from the unrelenting summer sun to come.

The resilient prickly pear is a less cautious plant, which has the gift of being able to reproduce either through the help of pollinators, or on its’ own – by dropping a pad into fertile soil. Its springtime mission may be less urgent, but is no less fervent than that of the other flowers, with pink blossoms springing from every pad.

This cactus has a prominent position in the painting that parallels its ecological niche. As a remarkably well-adapted species in the Southwest and a formidable, spine-clad photo synthesizer, other species often congregate around it.

A cactus wren, aptly chosen as the Arizona state bird, is comfortably perched on a pad between the security of the spines. Wrens are at home in the prickly pear and they often make several nests in one cactus, with some serving as decoys to confuse predators.

The prickly pear also provides a “succulent” treat for those willing to undergo the adventure of removing the spines– an art the coyotes and foxes have mastered. Native Americans have also used prickly pears for medicinal, domestic and culinary purposes. These uses have spread worldwide and remain active today in the Southwest, Mexico and in parts of Latin America.

The pads (nopales in Spanish) and the fruits (“figs” or tunas in Spanish) are eaten plain and as jam and distilled into spirits, and are also taken as an anti-inflammatory agent. This beneficial plant is one of the desert’s most versatile and pleasant surprises!

Shute captured this 2009 spring vignette in the Anza Borrego Desert in California while hiking with her husband and their friends, who enjoyed photographing the blooming landscape.

Reproductions of Springtime Succulence are available through my retail partner, Fine Art America. You’ll have the option of purchasing a high quality Giclee canvas or print reproduction, as well as customizable greeting cards.

Additionally, Springtime Succulence can be purchased through our Gallery’s Gift Shop, on Personalized Gift Products such as quality mugs, magnets, ceramic tiles, coasters and more. These offerings are intended to introduce the Western Trails Series to you on a variety of mediums.

Original oil painting on canvas by Kathy Shute- Environment Artist

Look carefully and you will see a beetle heading for the shade of this haven. Listen closely and you may even hear the ephemeral creek running nearby, engendering a sense of serenity to the passersby. This “Poppy Oasis” is one of nature’s small, yet vital refuges for the weary.

This particular bunch of poppies, probably of the species Eschscholzia Californica, was seen by the artist in their home at Limestone Canyon, Trabuco CA. The California Golden Poppy was voted the official State Flower in 1890.

Reproductions of Poppy Oasis are available through my retail partner, Fine Art America. You’ll have the option of purchasing a high quality Giclee canvas or print reproduction, as well as customizable greeting cards.

Additionally,  Poppy Oasis can be purchased through our Gallery’s Gift Shop, on Personalized Gift Products such as quality mugs, magnets, ceramic tiles, coasters and more. These offerings are intended to introduce the Western Trails Series to you on a variety of mediums.

Original oil painting on canvas by Kathy Shute-  Environment Artist

Description written by Heather Rice-  Anthropological Environmentalist