36” x 48”
Gouache and hand embroidery on paper

Inspired by a recent trip to West Texas, this is a sort of love letter to the Chisos Mountain Range. I consider West Texas one of my homes and I am fascinated by the stark differences in plant life, color palette, and sense of time between that landscape and my home in Michigan.

I created this piece in the snowy white Michigan winter, and loved drowning myself in the colors of this gouache and these threads, dreaming of those saturated West Texas skies. I completed the painting in its entirety first, and added the hand-stitching as the last step. Each stitch was carefully placed as to not compromise the integrity of the paper and to not cover up too much of the painting. I love that the stitches also convey the harshness and general spikiness of the desert flora. The piece is named with the perspective of these flora in mind. I have spent many sunrises deep in that desert, and I love the way the plant life all seems to buzz with anticipation right before the sun cracks the horizon. It’s a magical moment, full of potential and excitement.

This is my first piece of 2022, created with hope and determination for a better year ahead.

Thank you
Dana