In mid November of 2020, I embarked on my road trip to 5 national parks in 3 different states, with the intention to create a new series of paintings about the southwestern desert landscape.

Within the period of two weeks, armed with two cameras and a bunch of art supplies, my friend and I road tripped and wild camped our way through Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, and finishing off near Mammoth Mountain.

There are so many inspiring things about the desert landscape, and I was really excited to explore, capture, and paint the incredible rock formations and canyons that are the main feature of these national parks.

But what really surprised me and stood out to me the most were the peachy pastel colors and deep blues in the distance, and within the shadows which dominated much of the more simple scenery in between the parks while driving.  The areas between these parks are vast and seemingly empty, yet totally mesmerizing and beautiful. 

Such huge empty areas of land make the appearance of the simplest object so interesting to see.  We mostly tend to live in areas of density, which I believe desensitizes us visually so that we don't notice how interesting a simple bush looks in favor of the more complicated structures always surrounding us.

What else really stood out for me is the absolute gnarlyness of the plant life.  These mostly dried out plants with twiggy twisted branches claiming their small space in the dry dusty soil represent the epitome of resilience.  They look almost dead, yet still alive, conserving their energy only to the most needed parts.  They are very smart plants, having evolved to live in such an intense environment.

Not only will I be featuring the iconic views and vistas of the national parks, I will also be highlighting the plant life seen throughout the journey. 

Plants, and how they thrive, survive, and evolve to accommodate different environments is a subject that greatly fascinates me, and I'm excited to share interesting facts about the desert plant life with you as I paint this next series.