The Birth of a Neon Desert

I haven’t been this proud of a painting in a long time.

I was SO excited when I got a commission to paint a new landscape in the style of the Neon Desert collection.

I’ve been itching to do another Neon Desert and explore the style a bit more, and boom - an opportunity falls right into my lap.

Thank you, Universe!

The client wanted a present for her daughter: a painting of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.

I’ve never been, and I’ve only been in Arizona in passing. But it’s been on my wish list for years (ever since a college roadtrip through the southwest national parks). 

I told the client: “I don’t typically send progress pictures of the commissions, because the in-progress work is not a great representation of the finished piece.”

But I enjoyed the process so much that I want to share it with you.

The pencil sketch is really just for me to orient myself. All of this will be covered up eventually.

With all the neon deserts, I like to start with the sky. It really sets the mood and the color palette for the rest of the piece.

And then - it’s fun time! Dabs and blotches of paint to figure out color blocking.

Gradually I build up the color blocks, switching from the big brushes to the smaller ones, until I cover the entire piece of paper.

Being decisive with big composition pieces, like the cactuses, is always a bit scary - but taking scary steps with gusto and boldness makes for an eye-catching painting.

At this stage, I also figure out the color temperature of every plane: background, midground, and foreground. Making sure to stay true to the reference, but also adhere to the rules of atmospheric perspective.

With my neon deserts, the dry spiky shrubbery takes center stage. I spent extra time on it in this painting - and on the foreground rocks.

I like to get lost in the meditative process of filling out the paper with small details.

But it’s never on autopilot.

All the details must have the right hue, warmth, and value for where they are in the composition.

(The more I practice, the more this part becomes second nature for me.)

And while I paint, I get to dream about visiting Arizona again one day, and see Superstition Mountains in person.

It’s been a joy to paint this sunrise desert view. All my favorite colors, all my favorite shrubs and rocks and distant mountains.

Today, I packed up the painting and shipped it off to its recipient. This one was a surprise gift, so the collector has no idea it’s coming!

I always have mixed emotions at this stage. This time, parting with the finished piece was especially bittersweet.

UPDATE:

This painting is now available as a high quality giclee print, sizes ranging from 5x7 to 30x40, the fifth in the Neon Desert collection. Get yours here!

And lastly: 

I had SO much fun painting this that I didn’t want to stop. Another, please!

Who wants their own commission next? Email me here to chat about it.