Landscaped Postcards

What happens when you take something like ordinary, unused, old postcards?  You can enhance them by adding some paint or “landscape” them.  Now you have a new round of mail art to send out today.

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.

Joshua Tree Palette

Joshua Tree Collagescape, mixed media on board, 8”x10”

This is the latest collagescape piece.  This one based on one of my favorite places on the planet.  It’s where I go to clear my head and be inspired.  I have painted Joshua Tree National Park many times.  This time I went for an afternoon palette, but I need to plan for a few more collagescapes capturing Joshua Tree at different times of the day as well as springtime after a wet winter when everything blooms.

Prints and other accessories of some of the images from this new series are available from Society 6.  Contact me directly regarding the originals.  

Happy 75th Birthday Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park celebrates its 75^th Anniversary today. I still tend to call it “The Monument” recalling that it was only recently changed from a National Monument to a National Park. I’ve been visiting once or twice a year for nearly 20 years now. And it’s nice to acknowledge the 75^th Anniversary, but the place is timeless. So much of my inspiration emanates from Joshua Tree. My artwork would not be the same without Joshua Tree National Park.