Awakening of the Dunes reflects the quiet reverence I hold for the desert and its wild, unwavering beauty. Particularly inspired by the Southern Utah red rocks in the desert.

This painting is my way of honoring the kind of landscape that feels both empty and full at the same time. The desert often feels like a mirror to my inner world. Vast, raw, and sometimes brutal, but also filled with sacred resilience.

I created this piece while thinking about how life often asks us to grow in places that feel dry and inhospitable. There’s a specific kind of strength required to root yourself in harsh terrain. And somehow, it’s often in those places that we begin to discover who we really are. The copper and bronze tones carry the warmth of desert sun, and the embedded cholla wood felt like a symbolic spine. It represents something that has endured over time and come through softer, not weaker.

The preserved blooms, the grains of sand, and the clarity of quartz are not just materials to me. They each carry a personal message. The cactus flower blooms only briefly, and that fleeting beauty reminds me of those rare moments when we catch a glimpse of our truest self. I poured that energy into this painting, hoping it would serve as a reminder that even in the most sun-scorched seasons, transformation is still possible.

This piece holds space for anyone who has felt lost in their own landscape. It’s an offering to the part of you that has endured, adapted, and is just beginning to bloom again.

Acrylic on Canvas

30”x48”

Clear Quartz, Cactus Flowers & local greenery, cholla wood, Lemurian Laser Quartz, Selenite, Red Rock & Red Sand collected from the Southern Utah wilds.