Reason No. 21

Reason No. 21

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Lilies That Bloom In The Desert

I photographed this desert lily (Agavaceae -Agave Family) in the Mojave Desert of Southern California six or seven springs ago during an unusually magnificent wildflower bloom in March.

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Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Thank you for participating...it means a lot to me!

On The Trail...Morning at Mosaic Canyon

Illustration Friday
(theme: "TRAIL")

Another one from the files...

This watercolor was painted a few years back after a trip to Death Valley with Dave. This scene is from a morning hike up Mosaic Canyon. If you look closely, you can see a bit of the trail winding up this exquisitely sculptured, colorful canyon; but you will have to imagine the rest of it as it winds up from the valley floor in the hazy distance...

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Wilderness

Illustration Friday (theme: "wilderness")

Another one from the files...This watercolor painting was inspired by the Grand Canyon Phantom Ranch mule train, heading up the Kaibab Trail as I was heading down a few years ago. The mule train is the only form of transportation down to the ranch (other than your own two feet), located at the bottom of the canyon near the Colorado River. These faithful and reliable beasts of burden carry everything that goes in and out of the ranch--linens, food, supplies, mail, and garbage. Thanks to them, hundreds of visitors get to enjoy a little taste of the wilderness each year with a warm meal and a soft bed waiting for them at the bottom, one mile straight down in world's most magnificent canyon!

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Renewal

Illustration Friday (theme: "renewal")

It's amazing the lengths that some plants will go to--creating the most amazing and alluring blossoms conceivable in order to seduce passing pollinators to ensure renewal... This seductive echiveria from Southern California was no exception...it certainly caugh MY eye!

This is an original watercolor painting from my archives, which is now in a private collection.

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The title of this painting is "Passion", and it is available as a limited edition giclee print, ready-to-frame in dusty blue matting, in my Etsy online shop

Illustation Friday: Unfold

Illustration Friday
(theme:"unfold" )

A watercolor from the archives...a delicate yellow cactus blossom beckons a honeybee while tightly-closed buds await their turn to unfold...

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This limited edition giclee print, called "First Blush" is available as a matted print in my Etsy Shop

Through the Cracks

Illustration Friday
(theme:"cracked" )

I'm always amazed at the tenacity of those things that grow and thrive in just the slightest of cracks in a rock or a sidewalk...

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This limited edition giclee print, called "Banded Gecko" is available as a matted print in my Etsy Shop

Illustation Friday: Legendary

For at least 700 years, the legendary Havasupai Native Americans have lived along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Imagine generation after generation telling and re-telling their fireside legends about Raven and Bear.

The Havasupai call themselves the “people of the blue-green water”. This raven is halfway down the trail that goes to the canyon floor, and if you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the blue-green glint of the mighty and timeless river below...

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This Grand Canyon Raven image is available on clothing and gifts at my Cafepress Shop: www.cafepress.com/SusanFayeNature

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

A Tale of Two Rabbits

I'm happy to announce that both of these rabbits have recently found new homes, thanks to the beautiful and talented Margot Cole, super Sales Consultant at Lawrence Gallery Sheridan, and a wonderful artist herself.

The jackrabbit was one of many that Dave and I spotted on one of the dusty back roads of Anza Borrego State Park in the California Desert, several springs ago. The cottontail was an inhabitant of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California, caught munching on a grape leaf one bright morning....


Both have made their way to the Great Pacific Northwest, where they now reside as watercolor paintings in the private collection of a Portland couple. Like me, hopefully these Southwest bunnies will get used to a little less sunshine and thoroughly enjoy their new home.

To see my current collection of paintings at the Lawrence Gallery, please click here: Susan Faye at Lawrence Gallery

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Featured Artwork: HALFWAY DOWN THE KAIBAB TRAIL

It's summertime which means thousands of vacationers will be heading to the Grand Canyon. If they venture over the side and hike down into the canyon, they might just meet this old fellow who welcomed my friend Mary and me several years ago about halfway down the Kaibab Trail. We had stopped to enjoy our first glimpse of our destination: the Colorado River (still half a mile straight down), and this curious and sociable raven stopped on a nearby boulder to peruse the breathtaking and windy vista with us...

The original artwork is not for sale at this time, however, the image can be found on a variety of gift items at my CafePress website: Susan Faye For Nature Lovers


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Featured Print: "DESERT TORTOISE

This is a limited edition giclee print that is a faithful reproduction of my original watercolor painting called "Desert Tortoise". It features a ruggedly handsome and fascinating inhabitant of The Living Desert wildlife park in Southern California.

Each print is personally signed and numbered and this print is limited to an edition of 500. It is printed on Epson 100 percent cotton rag acid-free art paper with archival quality inks using a "giclee" (ink-jet) process. The image itself measures 9-1/2" x 12-1/2" and is matted to 16" x 20"; ready to frame in a standard 16" x 20" frame. It sells for $75.00 and is available at:
www.SusanFaye.etsy.com

This image is also available on a variety of gift items such as T-SHIRTS, TOTE BAGS, and NOTE CARDS at this site:
www.cafepress.com/SusanFaye

If you are in the Palm Springs area, by all means visit The Living Desert wildlife park/desert preserve in Palm Desert/Indian Wells (plan your trip in the morning or on a cool day--it can be HOT HOT HOT there during the summer). It is a beautifully designed "living museum" full of wonderful wildlife and desert plants/cactus from not only Southern California, but deserts around the world. For more information, visit their website: Living Desert

Thanks for visiting!

Featured Painting: "COURTSHIP"

This original watercolor painting is called "Courtship". It was inspired several springs ago when unusually torrential rains brought a carpet of blooms to the Anza-Borrego Desert in Southern California. In the middle of what is mostly a barren desert, the air was abuzz with bees. The cactus were wooing their prospective pollen bearers with a glorious display of showy blossoms...

It is painted on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press Watercolor Paper with professional quality Grumbacher watercolor paints. The image is 14 x 20" and is matted in off-white in a standard 22" by 28" size, ready for framing.

For more information on the spring wildflowers at Anza Borrego (at their peak over the next several weeks) visit this link: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638

This painting is up for auction on ebay this week; the auction ends March 1 at 10:46 am PST.