Air

In the category titled Air, I've place some of the more ethereal of my paintings. Here in the high desert the skies may be even more entrancing than the landscapes. The most powerful climactic spectacles tend to occur during our monsoon season, when awe-inspiring thunderheads fling lightening across the sky, and pummel the land with pounding male rains. Not all of these paintings are strictly about the atmospheric references to air, as you will see.

Air is the element of the East, of the gentle breeze of dawn, of springtime, new beginnings, and hope for the future.

Storm Runner

Storm Runner is perhaps my most popular painting. It was inspired by close encounters with the powerful summer monsoonal storms of this part of the country. In the lower right hand corner you can just see the curandera, hurrying home after gathering herbs in the hills. Overhead a hawk soars on the updrafts of the storm front. Which one is the runner?

Oil on Canvas 30" X 40"

$8500

Prints available

Storm Runner details

Creation Chaos

In this painting I let go and dive deep into my imagination. This is what came out on a day of high energy. I see the big bang, the coalescence of stars and planets from cosmic dust, the beginning of life.

Oil on Canvas  24" X 30"

$4500
Prints Available

detail below

Aravaipa View

Arriving unexpectedly in Tucson at our friends' home, I was delighted to be presented with an extra pass to Aravaipa Canyon. This protected sacred place is a deep, narrow canyon of red rock, towering over a shallow emerald creek of clear, cold water. Wildlife is abundant, with the wealth of ready water year round. Looking straight up this was my view. Optimistic vultures circled my prone body, hoping I wouldn't be getting up again. It was so lovely there, I almost didn't.

Acrylic on Paper 24" X 24"

NFS/Private Collection, New Mexico

Mesa Verde Thunderstorm

We visited Mesa Verde one summer soon after moving to New Mexico. The memory of black clouds sweeping down upon us as we stood at a view point is still vivid! The lightening seems to illuminate the glowing chamisa.
Acrylic on Paper 20" X 24"
NFS/Private Collection, Israel

Sandia Sunrise

On the way to Albuquerque, early one morning, I saw the most remarkable array of various cloud formations hovering over the mountains. I memorized the display, and painted them from the viewpoint of a soaring eagle. Many see the fog flowing over the ridge as ocean waves...that's fine, too.

Oil on Canvas 12" X 16"
NFS/Private Collection, New Mexico
Prints Available

Coming Home

After visiting a native Pueblo, tucked into a protected valley in the mountains, and seeing the traditional Hispanic villages of Northern New Mexico, I created this scene. It is a melding of different sites around the state. The father is returning with his weary burro, carrying a load of firewood, just ahead of a late spring snowstorm.  His sun has run up to hasten him on his way, while the mother waves from their doorway.

Oil on Canvas 24" X 32"
NFS/Private Collection, New Mexico
Prints Available

Shelter

To me this painting carries the subtitle: He Is Missing It. The figure is surrounded by sheltering rocks, forms derived from the tufa formations at City of Rocks in Southern New Mexico. He concentrates on getting a fire going, so he will be comfortable. But by focusing so intently on his physical comforts, he is missing the cataclysmic vision just out of sight beyond the rocks. I know I've been guilty of this at times.

Acrylic on paper 18" X 24"

NFS/Private Collection, California

Prints Available