Artist Statement: Nature in all her forms inspires me, whether it's the lush forests of our Pacific Northwest or, as in this case, the arid sands of the Baja California penninsula. I used my photo of a rock formation near the Sea of Cortez that included unusual intrusions of both black and white minerals in the native sandstone as inspiration. Then I loosely interpreted the shapes and details to achieve a variety of textures and values within what is basically a monochrome color palette. Many of the "branches" of the shrub are left loose to convey the brittle nature of these hardy plants.

Dimensions: 31.5" wide x 42" high