PATTERNS AND TONES

"Agua Dulce No. 3" from The Detritus Series Continuing my exploration of light and form, I have created several more images based on items from the basin of the Sierra Pelona Valley to the top of Tejon Pass and Mt. Diablo. Each individual piece informed me on how to approach their portrait. For the dried up yucca plant, I emphasized the base, filling it in with plaster of paris to round out what would have naturally been there. The dried flowers at the top were lightly brushed with the compound to highlight their now brittle structure.  In contrast to the prickly and dried detritus that I found in the hot and dry High Desert, items I found at the top of the Tejon Pass in Southern California and Mt. Diablo in Northern California are typical dry grasses and reads. Their graceful forms appear to have evolved with their perpetual dance with wind,  flexibly  bending and waving on top of great heights. I chose to give them a "vase" to sprout from,...