Morning at the Empire Ranch on a perfect October morning and a window to the mountains through an old barn is the scene of a new painting. After a very hot summer and the added confinement of the pandemic, breathing the fresh, fragrant air of the cottonwoods and mesquite are a delight. Meredith picks a cool kitchen still life scene while I paint and chat with tourists outdoors. We walk the now dry creek bed area where massive old cottonwoods, dry and stoic, have a multicolor luster revealing their many years gracing the creek before their thirsty demise. They are their own legend. 

Day of the Dead brings us the opportunity to commune in spirit with our loved ones passed on the the otherworld. Marigolds beckon with color and fragrance offering a conduit to and fro our alters of remembrance. Music and photos and flowers fulfill dreams creating reciprocity between realms. 

***Some of these original prints are available for sale. Please inquire at artbyvaleriegraham@gmail.com***   

A summer morning in the Sonoran Desert and Meredith and I head for Cienega Creek east of town to paint our vision from a railroad easement road that bestows a fabulous view to seal our memory on our canvases.