Drawing: Rain and Wind

As I have become accustomed to life in the Mojave desert near Joshua Tree, California, my art practice has shifted again. I can become quite enchanted by the rain now, when visiting other climates and especially at home where it is so rare. When I lived on the east coast or in Texas, a rainy day was met as an inconvenience. I would suit up with waterproof armor and speed myself to keep as dry as possible. Now since living in such an arid climate, I have a strong somatic response to rain falling from the clouds. I have been making a series of rain drawings started in a visit to Chicago last summer. I stayed outside in the rain with paper and brush and created a series of drawings that I think of as storm conversations.

After returning to the desert, I carried that same elation at connecting with nature and found that the desert has very remarkable winds. Since making the Chicago storm conversations, I have begun trying to teach the Creosote bushes near my studio door how to draw when the wind encourages their branches to move.