This should be brief. I certainly didn’t do much that was exciting during July, between record-breaking temperatures in Phoenix (118 degrees!) and COVID-19 restrictions. Unless, of course, you think grocery shopping is exciting.

My dog Lola enjoyed playing with the giant palo verde beetles that emerged from the ground in early July, and I enjoyed laughing at her antics. I paid homage to them in my painting Big Bug Emergence (SOLD).

The sky teased us off and on, and we finally got the first rain in about four months in late July. It was meager but still enjoyable, and I managed to spot a rainbow.

I continued my artistic exploration with black paper, enjoying the different feel of the pieces that utilize this new surface. I focused a lot on my neighborhood and fun memories for my artwork this month. I created one series playing on the concept of the many Little Free Libraries found around my neighborhood. The three paintings in the series are titled Fowl Language, Pulp Fiction, and Speed Reading, incorporating elements from the desert to correspond with those themes. I enjoyed coming up with all the little details found throughout these pieces, and it appears that they resonated with my fans, too, since two of the three have sold.

I’m now working through a series of desert “critters.” So far, these include the rooster who lives on my street, a Colorado River toad in monsoon, and a javelina helping itself to a meal of my potted plants (javelina not included here as it was completed 8/2). These pieces are back on white paper, but continue with my return to gouache paint (opaque watercolor) from my longtime use of transparent watercolor.

It’s been fun to explore different themes and artistic approaches as I decide what will adorn the walls in my rescheduled exhibition at Agua Caliente Ranch House Gallery in Tucson, now set for [stop the presses - this is back to being TBD]!

Of course, I was extremely pleased with my productivity, and that of the ten paintings I made this month, six have sold and found their way to a little “show” of their own in their new homes. THANK YOU so much to everyone who supports my artistic endeavors. These sales were certainly the highlight of an otherwise rather dreary month!

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Big Bug Emergence 5x7”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper SOLD. — *Big Bug Emergence*
5x7”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
SOLD.

The Mayor of Mulberry 5x7”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper SOLD. — *The Mayor of Mulberry*
5x7”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper
SOLD.

Where the Prairie Dogs & the Antelope Play 3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper SOLD. — *Where the Prairie Dogs & the Antelope Play*
3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
SOLD.

Cotton Candy Sky 3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Cotton Candy Sky*
3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Copper STate Sunset 3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Copper STate Sunset*
3x2”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Fowl Language 8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper SOLD. — *Fowl Language*
8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
SOLD.

Pulp Fiction 8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper SOLD. — *Pulp Fiction*
8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
SOLD.

Speed Reading 8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Speed Reading*
8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Monsieur Monsoon 5x7”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Monsieur Monsoon*
5x7”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Living in the Weird Wild West 8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper SOLD. — *Living in the Weird Wild West*
8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
SOLD.

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June is always a time of celebration for me. It’s my birthday month, and I typically try to celebrate to the fullest… eat lots of good food, take a trip or two, see some friends, and enjoy being on this Earth. Of course, everything looks a little different this year, but I did manage to still do a little celebrating turning the big 4-4.

My wanderlust got the best of me, and I took a little road trip to Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah. Bryce Canyon is located at around 8,000 feet above sea level, so the temperatures there are much cooler than Phoenix. The drive was about seven hours, and you’ll be happy to know that over the course of five days, I didn’t eat at a restaurant once and managed to only use a public restroom three times. I never thought I would be reporting on such things, but such is life in the time of coronavirus.

I enjoyed some wonderful weather (60’s and 70’s) and gorgeous hiking. The park was definitely less crowded than it would typically be, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. I also visited Kodachrome Basin State Park and Escalante Petrified Forest State Park while in the area. Kodachrome was a unique landscape featuring an abundance of rock spires and even a slot canyon cave. Escalante was irresistible to me because I have a slight obsession with petrified wood. The landscape there was very different from Petrified Forest National Park and the Bisti Badlands in New Mexico. I visited Bisti for my 43rd birthday, and it also contains petrified wood.

Ahh, that sweeping northern Arizona landscape, on the way to Bryce

Those creative Bryce hoodoos inspired me to make a little hotel room art, and I created a couple of small paintings while I was there in a brief reprieve from the painting that was my focus for most of June (and part of May), Home Sweet Homestead. This piece was the largest I’ve created in years, measuring 30x18”. I was happy/sad to finish it in time to create one more painting this month, this time on black watercolor paper. The black paper really gives a completely different look and approach, and I’m finding it to be very enjoyable as a change of pace.

The only other excitement I encountered during June was at home. We had new windows and a sliding door installed, a major improvement from 74-year-old casement windows. I also finally got the new studio/office setup I had wanted for months and I absolutely love it. My desk converts from sitting to standing, which really helps the neck strain I experience when painting for long periods of time. I honestly think it makes me want to work more - I call that a big success!

My new workspace - sitting. New window above my desk and new sliding door to the right; note the trim was not finished yet at the time this photo was taken.

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Serpentine Shade 6x4”, Watercolor & Gouache on Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Serpentine Shade*
6x4”, Watercolor & Gouache on Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Steller View 6x4”, Watercolor, Ink, & Gouache on Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Steller View*
6x4”, Watercolor, Ink, & Gouache on Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

Home Sweet Homestead 30x18”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *Home Sweet Homestead*
30x18”, Gouache on 300 lb. Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

The Skylark Umpire 8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase. — *The Skylark Umpire*
8x10”, Gouache on 140 lb. Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black Paper
For sale as of this blog post - visit my online shop to purchase.

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