Tethers: Desert Blooms Series

This series is my attempt to reengage the landscape of my childhood—the Sonoran Desert of Arizona—by looking back at the flora that marked those years often without my stopping to really look. In that way, the paintings serve as links to my personal history and identity, reflecting on how the Arizona landscape shaped and continues to influence both.

The vibrant blooms found in the Arizona spring are a testament to the creative potential that lies dormant beneath the harsh desert exterior, a potential I like to think mirrors the hidden depths of human personhood. And yet, these bursts of beauty are fleeting, much like the spring season itself. Severe conditions inevitably return, reminding us of the desert's austerity and the long wait for the next renewal. I look around me at the people I know, people in the news around the world, and know that many of us are waiting on one kind of spring or another, and some are in desperate situations. Perhaps that includes you. I offer these paintings up on behalf of all of us hoping for new life to spring from the barrenness of our circumstances, whatever they may be.