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Art School: How to Draw a Prickly Pear Cactus
I have been fortunate to be able to travel to Arizona often as I my in-laws live in Tucson. Every time we visit, I am just in awe of the landscape. It feels so drastically different from California. Although Northern California where I live is a dry climate, it can’t hold a candle to how dry the Sonoran Desert which surrounds the Tucson area is. The landscape is sandy soil terrain filled with cactus for miles backed up against rugged mountains in the distance. Quite stunning! To celebrate the southwest desert look I’ve created a series of cactus tutorials – first up, the prickly pear cactus. Enjoy and be sure…
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On Location: Portraits of Tucson, Arizona
With a population of over a half million people, there is definitely no shortage of portraits to be painted in Tucson, Arizona. Even with a burgeoning number of inhabitants, to a non-desert dweller, I was drawn (literally) to create portraits of the other population in Tucson, the cacti! The majestic saguaro cactus is hard to miss around town. Not only are they quite tall (some can grow to be over 70 feet tall), but they also could easily hold the title for most recognizable icon of the Wild West. Ironically they do not grow throughout the West, but Tucson is lucky to be one of the few regions it thrives. In fact, it is so prevalent in…
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Art on the Go: Quick Landscape Doodle for Fun Travel Memories
Everyone likes to doodle, right? Here’s a fun art exercise for those “down times” during your trip– create a doodle sketch of your surrounding landscape. You can do it while waiting for the plane, on a train, sitting at the beach or resting on a park bench. No fancy art supplies are needed, just a pen and paper… so let’s get doodling! Here’s a quick “how to” for creating your own landscape doodle – just 2 simple steps. First, take a pencil and create a very light (and quick) outline of the major portions of your landscape. Second, start doodling! Begin doodling the main portions of your landscape, then continue…
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Palette+Place: Antelope Canyon, Arizona
When we pulled up to the dated strip mall to start our adventure of Antelope Canyon, I must admit I was a little turned off. The small office was packed. Tourists of all shapes and sizes milled around the Navajo souvenirs and trinkets, all waiting for the bus. A tour group is not always my first choice in exploring a natural wonder, but it actually is the only way to see this spectacular slot canyon. Antelope Canyon is one of the most photographed slot canyons in the world. It is on Navajo land, thus solo visits are prohibited. One can only tour the canyon with a group lead by a…
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