"Canyon Wash" © #desertpainting #laurawambsgans

This is one of the new paintings that will hang at a special show next month in Pasadena.  It's a wonderful desert scene with all the classic features from the dry wash to the distant mountain.  You can just feel the heat and see a rabbit dash from one group of bushes to the next.  

Oil on Canvas,  18" X 24"

"Afternoon Along the Creek" #californiapainting #landscape #laurawambgans

This spot is only about 20 min. from my home and is a constant pull as I pass for a painting.  In the past painters have often painted scenes over and over again.  I guess until you feel like you really captured the scene or find another scene that has a stronger pull it's just what happens.  I am not done with it yet, that is for sure.

Oil on Linen,  24" X 24"

"Winter White" © #Canyondechelly #laurawambsgans

This painting is all about the contrast of the tree dressed in it's winter white coat against the shadowed stone wall behind.  It was an exercise in exploring high contrast and enabled me to decide whether this idea might work for a larger painting.   I have lived with this little guy in the studio for a few weeks and instead of growing tired of it, every day I become more fond.  So it's passed the test of time and a larger composition within the same story of contrast is painting waiting to be painted.  

Oil on Linen,  11" X 14"

"Sacred Stone Walls" © #canyondechelly #navajoreservation #laurawambsgans

Deep in the depths of the Canyon de Chelly, other then the tracks in the sand, time seems to have stopped a 1,000 years ago.  Imagine a hawk soaring above, calling out as the shallow water snakes it's way along the cliffs, this is what you experience.  

Oil on Canvas,  24" X 30"

"The Rangers Rocks" © #canyondechelly #desertpainting #navajoreservation #laurawambsgans

Last spring when my friends and I went painting in Canyon de Chelly our Navajo guide, Irene explained to us that this is the spot where some of the scenes for the recent Lone Ranger movie were filmed.  It was easy to envision a tall white horse running between the canyon walls.  

Oil on Canvas,  16" X 20"