Palm Springs artist and archaeologist James Toenjes is acting as caretaker and resident painter at the historic OX Ranch in Lanfair Valley, as he works on archaeology jobs in the Mojave National Preserve. His adventure has already yielded fine paintings…
Category: Miscellaneous
Desert Paintings Appraisal Day in Palm Desert
Readers of this site send me questions—Who is Ollie McDonald? Know anything about Larry Sitter? I usually refer them to a local dealer or the website AskArt. Next Saturday those of you in the Coachella Valley have a chance to…
Inaugural Salton Sea Art Exhibit Opens April 1
Many early artists painted the ancient lake in the desert, and recently a new parade of painters and photographers is trekking to the Sea. It was about time someone staged an exhibition celebrating this vibrant scene. The Salton Sea Museum–in…
April is Desertscapes Month
For the second year in a row, the City of Palm Desert and organizations valley wide are hosting a monthlong tribute to early and contemporary desert artists. The event, known as Desertscapes, takes place in April at venues around the…
Cheryl Jordan: Seeking the Heart of the 92256
The heroes of early desert photography recognized that a time and place was passing long before anyone else came to the same conclusion. They had a way of seeing what would be missed. Mecca postmaster Susie Smith, for instance, documented…
Painting of Agnes Pelton’s Mountain Cabin Surfaces
Mount San Jacinto, above Palm Springs, played a big role in Agnes Pelton’s life and vision. From the porch of her little house in Cathedral City the artist studied and painted the peak, a symbol to her of upward yearnings.…
Agnes Pelton: Mystic Genius of Cat City
When returning from a haircut appointment recently, I swung by the former Cathedral City home of the visionary painter Agnes Pelton. She moved out of the house in 1960 and died a year later; today hardly anyone remembers she once…