Celebration of Green!

"New Leaf" - 30"x80" on Exhibit at FOUND:RE Hotel Phoenix - visit my Event page for more info to visit.

​I love the color of green.  Maybe it's grown on me the longer I've lived in the desert.

Not that the Sonoran Desert doesn't have green!  Sometimes we get enough rain in the winter to green it up to surprise all the snow-birds (our affectionate name for winter visitors). Even then, the green desert competes with the vivid pops of desert blossoms, the bright blue sky and the sometimes purple, sometimes terra cotta colors of the mountains.

I'm celebrating green today because one of my favorite paintings, "New Leaf" is on display at FOUND:RE Hotel in downtown Phoenix. (You can see it on the First Friday Art Walks). It was so encouraging to hear the feedback from people at the Opening Reception - "it's stunning" "love the way you've enlarged a familiar thing so we can explore it" "the green seems to be dancing" "how did you get the leaves to be so translucent" . . .  It did my little artist heart good and made me happy!​

That's me at Iverson Trail on Camano Island, WA

​​I just came home from a place that is almost completely green.  I loved it.

​Yah - it was a bit boring after a while. Nonetheless I soaked up as much as I could.  A week's worth at least.  I was really grateful to be able to travel to the Northwest Coast, to Camano Island, for an art workshop with an artist friend of mine.  It was a blast.

​It was green.

​​​Funny thing.  At this uber green workshop, I was experimenting with a new color palette - mixing and exploring colors for the Red Rocks of Arizona. Most of you know that landscapes aren't my thing. Of course, I'll always love and paint roses. And the burrowing owls on desert trash are so much fun!

​But a new desire is bubbling up in my soul since we drove through Monument Valley in April.  I've just gotta explore it! 

​Here are a couple of the exercises I played with in the workshop. I'm excited about exploring these amazing places though painting.

​Let me know in the comments if you've been to any of the Red Rock places in Arizona - I'd love to hear about your experience!

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Monument Valley, AZ

Sedona, AZ