Desert Sunset

Desert Sunset is the first studio work of a desert vista I have ever painted for publication. At this stage in my career, new subjects or new styles are cause for celebration, and the paintings that introduce them become personal landmarks in my ongoing quest for artistic expression. The special challenge in painting the arid landscape of the desert is the luminous quality of light, the radiance of color shimmering through the clear air.

As I prepared field studies in such diverse regions as Southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona, I was constantly overwhelmed by the effect of twinkling distant lights within the vast valleys of desert regions. An image came to mind of a glittering necklace of diamonds and pearls laid upon a velvet cloth. Here is a treasure of lavish color that surpasses any pirate’s chest.

I’ve long admired the vast vistas, intense silences and almost spiritual solitude of the desert. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to celebrate those qualities on canvas; I hope to return to them soon.