Cactus and Chamisa

This New Mexico view pairs the bright yellow chamisa with the sculptural, weathered form of a cholla or dead branch rising against open sky. The foreground is built from careful observation of the flowering shrubs and dry grasses, while the distant hills stay simpler and quieter. I painted it because the combination of delicate blooms and rugged structure felt characteristic of that high-desert ground—abundant for a short time, then spare again.