Arizona Renaissance: La Tempesta
“Oh look, another bright, sunny day” I would say sarcastically as I looked out my window. I love a moody sky and the thunderous roar from the clouds – it makes me happy, and nothing made me happier than monsoon season when the storms rolled in. I was so inspired by the movement and the drama that I did a series of paintings and photographs called So Pursue Them with Your Tempest and Terrify Them with Your Storm or La Tempesta. It was this time period that I really began to focus on my painting and became very regimented in my practice – I did some sort of art everyday be it a sketch of an idea, a few brush strokes on a canvas or a full painting because the inspiration struck.
We didn’t get a lot of foggy days in the desert so when we did, I took full advantage and walked my neighborhood to take a few snapshots for future paintings like the one below.
So pursue them with your tempest…
This is a view from my window of Camelback Mountain as a storm and winds began to roll in. Those palms would bend and sway and look like they were about to snap when the strong winds blew but never did they give.
And terrify them with your storm.
As we approached the crest of the hill I whipped out my camera and took a bunch of reference photos for this painting. The clouds churned and moved almost like they were combating each other.
Image: La Tempesta #4, oil on canvas 2010
Paper Cut-Outs of Matisse 