Ever since I moved to Arizona at the beginning of 2021, I have loved it here. The sun, the warmth, the landscapes, the people. I fell in love with the desert.
And what a beautiful desert it is.
As an avid hiker, I explored it well. Contrary to popular belief, the desert is full of life and vegetation, and yes, it even turns green! It’s no wonder it inspired me to create a collection of animal paintings representing all the wildlife that can be found out there.
It’s an ongoing series of work as there are more species I could ever paint but I have a solid base of six that are, in my opinion, some of the most popular animals.
Inspired by Arizona and the Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert expands from the southwestern United States to the northwestern part of Mexico, and according to Wikipedia, it is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. Furthermore, it’s the most biologically diverse of the four US deserts. It is home to a wide variety of plants, such as the iconic Saguaro cactus, and animals.
As an artist, it’s an endless source of inspiration.
I would describe myself as a “summer child”. I’ve always done much better in the heat than the cold. So, of course, upon moving to Arizona, I instantly fell in love with both the climate and the natural beauty of the desert.
I’ve learned so much about the plants, cacti, and wildlife living in the Southwest. I’ve hiked so many trails and seen so many wonderful things. From birds to snakes and lizards, there are so many animals living and thriving in the harsh heat of this southwestern desert, it was only a matter of time until I started creating some digital paintings about them.
All this lead me to produce a collection of artworks I refer to as the Desert Life Series.
Unfortunately, as more people move to the desert to enjoy the warm climate (I’m one of them), pollution rises and nature is altered and destroyed. Hopefully, this series of works can bring some awareness to all the species that call the desert their home and help us preserve it.
Desert Life Series
In addition to representing these animals in a way that shows their individuality, I’ve been focusing on creating artworks that would work well together on a wall as art prints or home decor in general.
Here are my digital paintings inspired by the animals living in the Sonoran desert.
Roadrunner
The famous roadrunner! Let me tell you, they can actually be so big it’s impressive! They are not so easy to see and I count myself lucky for having encountered a couple on my adventures.
This bird is absolutely adorable with its long tail and crest. I love it so much I made two paintings.
Titles: “Little Road Runner” and “Desert Song”.
Lizard
Sooo many lizards running around in Arizona. Seriously, they’re everywhere. These little reptiles can be super colorful sometimes.
Title: “Desert Colors”
Javelina
Aka peccary. Javelina are wild boars that have a reputation for having a bad smell and being potentially dangerous as they will not hesitate to protect themselves or their family should someone come too close.
I’m pretty pleased with how my digital painting turned out for this one!
Title” “Wild Scent”.
Gila Monster
A cool-looking species of lizard native to the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Venomous and protected by law in Arizona. I have yet to see one in real life and I really hope I do someday. I love the patterns on its skin.
Title: “Sculpted By The Sand”.
Gambel’s Quail
Aka the “desert quail”. One of my favorite birds by far. Like the roadrunner, it mostly lives on the ground. What I absolutely love about them is that they form little families. During mating season, they pair off with one partner, so in the summer when baby chicks are born, you can see the tiny babies running around alongside their parents. It’s adorable.
Also, they’re so funny looking with their little crest!
Title: “Across the Painted Desert”.
Rattlesnake
Of course I had to make a rattlesnake digital painting. It wouldn’t be a complete series without this infamous reptile.
Having run into several on my hikes and almost stepped on one once, I can attest they are scary. Thankfully, they will usually let you know they’re here by rattling, which is a warning, so you can avoid them and not get bitten. Basically, they yell at you until you go away.
Title: “King of the Sands”.
And these are the six original digital paintings part of my Desert Life series.
With many more to come I’m sure!
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