Thursday, January 14, 2016

December in the Desert

Every year just before Christmas, I travel from Los Angeles to the Mojave Desert...Joshua Tree National Park and the desert town of Twentynine Palms.  I love Los Angeles, but--I really look forward to these trips--a few hours and a world away from the city!


The trip always begins with passenger sketching!



First night in the desert, watching the sun go behind the hills overlooking the outskirts of Twentynine Palms...


Visiting Noah Purifoy's Desert Art Museum in the town of Joshua Tree...a wonderful collection of sculpture I hope to revisit for more sketching!  More about Noah Purifoy...
















Sketching in Joshua Tree National Park...at Keys View with Palm Springs in the far distance...and Mt. San Jacinto...

Split Rock, drawn with pencil and watercolor graphite...



I never get tired of visiting Hidden Valley...called a "transition zone" for the range of plants there that grow in higher elevations.  Always some climbers and other visitors here...

Breakfast at Andrea's, a neighborhood place in Twentynine Palms with regulars who sit together and discuss all the news of the day...


Light on tamarisk trees...












And evenings in the desert...




 Driving in Joshua Tree National Park...




Leaving the Park...







...and heading home to Los Angeles with a storm coming...
 ...passing Morongo Casino, and back to the city...





























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9 comments:

  1. Lala RagimovJanuary 15, 2016 at 5:01 PM

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  2. Lala RagimovJanuary 15, 2016 at 5:04 PM

    Beautiful paintings! How do you manage to sketch on the road? What kinds of materials are you using when in the car? I imagine everything has a tendency to scatter...

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    1. VHeinJanuary 22, 2016 at 8:59 AM

      Hi Lala, thanks very much! I've been doing this for some years now, and started by just using line--generally with a cheap Pilot VBall Grip pen in a small sketchbook. That way I could catch quick impressions with a line that flowed like handwriting. With practice, I started adding more materials, like watercolor with a brush pen, markers, colored pencils, etc. You've reminded me to make a post about a new book I contributed to--on this very subject, so thank you again (my next post)!

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    2. Lala RagimovAugust 31, 2016 at 11:21 AM

      Thank you! Great post about the book too, just saw it!

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    3. VHeinSeptember 17, 2016 at 1:13 AM

      Thanks very much, Lala!

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  3. MarieJanuary 19, 2016 at 6:15 PM

    Love this series!
    We go to JTNP several times a year & I try to sketch while there but wow you've really captured that areas natural beauty & color. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. VHeinJanuary 22, 2016 at 9:01 AM

      Thanks a lot, Marie! It's one of my favorite places to sketch--and experiment with different materials and approaches, with the light changing all the time on the beautiful forms of the rocks.

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  4. Linda NavrothAugust 29, 2016 at 4:12 PM

    Have you ever been to Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce?

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    Replies
    1. VHeinSeptember 17, 2016 at 1:08 AM

      Hi Linda, no, I've heard of them but don't think I've been there...

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