Under the Orionids - Original

Each October and November, the Orionids arc across the night sky—brief, bright remnants of Halley’s Comet. In Under the Orionids, a single deer grazes among tall sage, a small pond reflecting the flicker of passing meteors. Behind her, Mesa Prieta rises in its true form, the same silhouette the artist sees each day from her studio windows.

Though the painting depicts a cold New Mexico autumn, it was shaped from the warmth of the studio, memory and imagination stitched together by hand. Echoing the spirit of the earlier work Sage and Time, this piece is a portrait of desert life after dark—where the quiet is full, the land is watchful, and even the smallest moment feels touched by something ancient moving across the sky.

Year Created: 2022

Medium: Oil on canvas

Painting Size: 48x60 inches.