Cactus Nocturnus

This move is a long time in the making and it will be the first time I have lived in the desert. My dream is to build a small house, and a very large state-of-the-art studio and shop. I’m also eager to have a drastic change in scenery and energy, I’ve always loved big changes. In 2014 I moved to New York City, on a whim. It was a little scary at the time, but if you only do what you’ve always done, you’ll only get what you’ve already gotten. Time to shake things up.

Leading up to this big decision I took several trips out West to explore. The landscape is almost moon-like at times, and the plants are somewhat alien to me. I grew up in the wet, lush Pacific Northwest. Sun was rare, rain was not. This climate will be the opposite.

As I began warming up to the idea that cacti would be a big part of my future life, my obsession with them grew. I visited the incredible botanical gardens in Pasadena and was a total shutter bug as I walked through their finely tended gardens that have been cared for by the estate for over 100 years.

For me my little cacti studies are happy mediations on what’s to come. They also serve as a way of practicing on small canvases before I tackle larger compositions. For example, in the large 64x80 inch painting Lobo Sirocco, I first learned on my smaller canvases how to paint cacti, which previously I really had no experience creating.