Desert Adobe

The Southwest has a very special meaning for me. I’ve been going there since I was still in school. The desert is a place that is real and alive. The spectacular mountains adjusting their colors every day while allowing flora and fauna to thrive in what most of us consider hostile conditions is awe inspiring. The desert is hot in the summer and dry and cold in the winter, but it makes you feel as if you are part of this earth. It’s the only place I get that feeling of connecting with the land.
This painting is not from anything that is real, but a collection of memories from my travels throughout the Western US. I’ve spent a lot of time in Arizona, Nevada, and California and on many occasions visited areas where the rock are coral and red and crimson and copper and many other colors too numerous to even have names.
The adobe structure is planted between two small rises that protects the inhabitants who once lived there. Place yourself there to feel the summer heat and the winter dryness while listening to the birds chirping and the coyotes howling at night.
I chose to do his image in the style of the impressionists. As a whole, they were a big part of my inspiration to create art. Taking risks in spite of the odds against them showed great courage.

Acrylic on canvas, unframed size: 16″ x 20″