Desert Bloom Collagescape

Desert Bloom, mixed media on board, 12”x12”

I had visited Joshua Tree National Park a few times before I had my first spring experience.  It was after one of the very wet, El Niño winters in the 1990’s.  I already was in love with the place but spring — spring was something else.  The desert blooming is still hot and dry.  The background colors are the regular shades of brown.  But as you walk along and look down there are little specs of color everywhere.  Some flowers are like miniscule drops of color.  Yellows, reds, whites, blues, purples and oranges are all there.  In high tech terms, think of wildflower pixels.  The only really big flowers are the creamy whites of the Joshua Trees when they flower and the flourish of red atop the blooming ocotillos.  Tall and spindly, the ocotillo is like the drag queen of the desert that makes an appearance every spring.

With these bright little specs of color against the desert background I wanted to create a collagescape that attempts to capture the visual experience of the park on a spring day.  Desert Bloom will be shown in my Collagescape exhibit opening in August.