Following my trip to Joshua Tree National Forest, I wanted to create a painting inspired by its beautiful landscape. The desert is surreal, inspiring, and humbling. The vast landscape has evolved to include spiked trees, thorny cacti, and wind-swept bouldering hills. Following the dusty trail with my sibling J and partner Chappell, we found and enjoyed plentiful recreational dust™ and incredible sunset views. I felt changed by my experience there and hope to go back one day.

Pictures from the acrylic painting process: sketches, color study, layering the canvas from the back to the front, ending with the details.

I decided to paint and give this painting to my sibling J (pictured above, middle) as a thank you for their invitation to visit them in Cali. I’m grateful to be able to give away and/or sell my work to loved ones who support me! Thanks for reading and taking time to check out the painting 🙂