The Desert Light May/June 2018 | Page 7

Tonopah-Tidewater “ I kept walking by this tree, and it spoke to me. I kept working the painting until I got it right. ” same way she tackled Portland, only the cold blue of the urban streets has become warm desert sands and blue tapestries of geometric shapes. The stark naked power lines have melted into palm trees. Here the artist leaves the cold urban landscape for Mojave’s serenity at dawn and softness at dusk. In the image, “One Palm,” (left) the tree stands like a solo warrior against a vast landscape, and unlike some of the other warmer paintings, this image draws in the blue that is so prevalent in previous works. “I kept walking by this tree,” she says, “and it spoke to me.” Setting up her easel and beginning, first versions of this image were golden but as often happens in the early spring, May/Jun 2018 | THE DESERT LIGHT 7