Creosote And Other Desert Super Beings

April 20, 2011

Working hard on my Orme Ranch aerial illustration. Lots of due diligence on the dozens of buildings on the high, desert campus. Going up next Tuesday for one more plein air session and then on to finish.

Just perused David Spindell's photos from the Hugh O'Brian birthday party last Saturday in Hollywood. As soon as he gets me the images I'll post up my thoughts and impressions of the fun party with one of Benedict Canyon's oldest playboys. Ironically, Charlie Sheen is one of his neighbors (so the dream lives on).

One of my favorite desert plants is the creosote. I've always loved the signature, pungent smell it gives off after a rain. Not easy to render, however, especially in the wild. Very delicate, scattered branches. Here is an impressionistic take on a stand of creosote on the high Sonoran Desert, at sunset:

Working on a new idea: a super-hero-cowgirl. She's either a vet's assistant by day, or, an underpaid history teacher (Paul Hutton, the Distinguished Professor, wants the latter and Juni Fisher recommends the former). Of course, by night she's a horse hopping-flying super cowgirl who can leap a gooseneck with a single bound. She also has a fantastic birth story, involving UFOs hurtling out of the Western skies and landing near her father's ranch on the night she was born.

Hmmmm. Who was that masked cowgirl? Hi-Yo-Mama, away!!!!!!

"There are three things which the public will always clamor for, sooner or later: novelty, novelty, novelty."
—Thomas Hood