Taft-Nicholson Environmental Humanities Center Art Residency

During my residency I experienced a lot of rain. A lot. There is both beauty and frustration in this. The frustration being that it kept me from working outdoors.

The Centennial Valley is about 45 miles long and about 14 miles wide, with nothing to obscure the view from one end to another, whether looking east-west or north-south.

Witnessing storms moving through or along the edges of the valley is stunning. A new set of textures and colors becomes evident, giving rise to a different kind of energy; visual and kinetic.

Storms can shift and move pretty quickly, not unlike birds and other animals. Based on one storm event, this piece developed from photos and videos while the memory of the experience was still very fresh in my mind.

The sandhills take up the distant forms while the middle- and foreground are covered with native grasses, sagebrushes, and willows found on the valley floor. Glimpses of the Red Rock Lakes make an appearance, too.

The vignette style is something I am very fond of; it’s like peering through a section of fogged window that was cleared with a hand… this is what one sees.

Red Rocks Lake NWR
Watercolor
15x22” (unframed)