Humm
a thin layer of clouds moved over Mojave and changed the scheme of the light to a familiar blue hue . “ I kept working the painting until I got it right ,” she says . The artist uses a vertical canvas to further comment on the stark loneliness this palm tree evokes . Centered on the print the tree towers over the rabbitbrush and acts as a gatekeeper to the dry lake bed in the background , a centurion watching over an oasis . Yet Demarest shows her sense of humor here too and adds a playful layer to this image by including two ducks meandering across the pond .
In “ Tonopah-Tidewater ” ( page 7 ) and “ Below Aiken Mine ” ( page 5 ) she once again teases us into thinking she has drifted into impressionism . The lines become a little less defined and colors collide in undefined shapes , yet the painter ’ s skill is still on full display . The brush strokes reveal an artist in control . She says , “ Some of the images take weeks to complete . I will return to them numerous times and add more layers or define particular areas . It all depends on whether or not the piece speaks to me .”
8 THE DESERT LIGHT | May / Jun 2018