To The Sonoran Desert We Shall Go!

Another commission, we’re heading to the Sonoran Desert today. My collectors saw this piece on the blog and fell in love. They basically want the same painting with just a few changes. 

So….let’s get to work. I begin by sketching the foreground terrace and steps with a brush dipped in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin. The piece is 36 inches tall by 30 inches wide on a gallery wrap canvas. Since the image will extend on to the edges of the canvas I’ve attached it to cardboard. This will make handling the wet painting a whole lot easier. Want to know how I did that? CLICK HERE to find out.

The adobe wall and building are constructed next. Vigas, a southwestern term for the beams supporting the roof, extend from the wall over the door.

The heavy beams over the door and gate are called Lintels.

Jack and I lived in Carefree Arizona for a few years, right in the heart of the Sonoran Desert. I LOVE the desert, we were fortunate enough to have nine tall Saguaro cacti on our property. 

After spring rains the Saguaro Cacti sprout beautiful white flowers on top of their long arms. It makes them look like they are holding little bouquets. I found this picture on Google.com so you could see how pretty they are.

One of the changes my client asked for was to make the ristra all Red Chile Peppers. So it’s washed in with Alizarin Crimson + Liquin. I’ll come back later and paint them with opaque oils.

Anne and Brian are cat people. They asked me to take out the rooster and hen, replacing them with kittens somewhere in their painting. Thought it would be fun to have a couple trying to catch a butterfly at the base of the Sunflowers. Please remember as you read through my blog, you may click on any of the pictures to see them larger.

Another little kitty appeared on the left side of the steps; looks like he’s ready to bound over to help! We’ll begin painting in the next session, hope you’ll come back and watch. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

http://www.Senkarik.com