Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan

From 1998 through 2007, I created literally hundreds of illustrations for Pima County's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. I painted everything from native plants and animals to ancient pottery and entire ecosystems. Here is tiny fraction of that body of art:

Each individual item was painted with acrylic on paper. I then scanned them, opened them in Photoshop and used some of them over in multiple illustrations. For instance, the Longhorn sheep is in two of the illustrations here. 

Southwest Still Lifes

Back in the 1980s I was in several galleries in Tucson and in Saks Gallery in Denver. I painted A LOT of Southwest Still Life paintings back then. Here are a few.


"Thanksgiving" Oil on canvas 18x24.
This still life has a small Tohono O'Odham basket which my wife's grandmother had in the closet when we got married and a silver kokopelli amulet made by my Hopi/Yaqui friend Agustine Nasewatewa. Agustine "Tino" was my friend through high school and college.  He introduced me to Yaqui ceremonies.

"Hopi Pots" Acrylic on panel 18x24
I borrowed these Hopi pots and bobcat furs from my friend Les. The blanket and fetish are in my collection.

 "Hopi Cradle Doll" Acrylic on canvas 16x20
These objects are all Hopi and in my collection.

 "Nampeyo" Oil on panel 16x20
Nampeyo was the pueblo potter that "jumpstarted" the modern pueblo potters. The pots are Hopi.

"Old Chief" Acrylic on canvas 16x20
This Tohono O'Odham basket was my wife's grandmothers. She was using it to store stuff in when we got married!

Sketches from my garden

On days when I can't get out into the desert, I do plein-air painting in my backyard garden. I've planted it with over 80 different species of native Sonoran Desert plants over the years.

These are all quick one hour sketches done with casein on paper.

My small pond has native aquatic grasses and sedges as well as topminnows and leopard frogs. 

I have several species of the Palo Verde tree. This is the Palo Brea.

 

I painted Archangel Michael on the garden wall to protect all within.

 

Its beautiful to see the leaves change. Here is a winter study.

 

Sketches from Tumamoc 2014

I've been going up to Tumamoc Hill regularly to make quick on-location paint sketches. Here are a few painted in 2014. All are painted with Casein on 5" x 7" Strathmore paper.

Tumamoc sketch

A plein-air painting on Tumamoc Hill from mid December 2014. I've been painting in casein on most of my quick sketches, but this one is acrylic on 9" x 12" paper. It took a little over an hour.