The West

Muir Woods National Monument in California has a remarkable interplay of light and shadow created by the towering redwood trees that filter the sunlight. The magical ambiance is not something an amateur photographer like me can recreate, but the essence has stayed with me since I traveled there in 2015. The Muir Woods panels were some of the first paintings I made in the Artifacts series, reflecting my own experiences as I traveled.

In 2016, I spent a month in the desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico, on a self-generated artist residency. The drive itself is an experience—from the swampy coastal plains through central Texas to the wind farms of the Panhandle outside of Amarillo; the journey is mostly flat. There’s always that little moment of excitement when you catch the first glimpse of real topography—something that has thrilled me since I was a kid in the back of a station wagon driving from Dallas to Colorado. Northern New Mexico’s sweeping vistas and bright blue skies feel enormous. I was also captivated by the dry textures and colors of the native gray rabbitbrush, sagebrush, and blue grama, and of course, the multi-colored stratifications found in the terrain.