"Sonoran June" 24" x 30" oil on canvas
"Sonoran June" is a 24" x 30" oil painting, painted on Belgium linen with hand ground oils over the period of a year, using a live model.
This painting was inspired by Lord Leighton's 'Flaming June.' However, I added a touch of the west by painting a backdrop of the mountains which frame my home and a cactus skeleton border, blooming with cactus flowers.
The fabric the woman sleeps on is embroidered with flowers, which have escaped the fabric and are blooming in the desert sun. Vines wind around her ankle as though to keep her in the painting, even as one foot extends over the border.
The painting comes framed. I made the 3 1/2" solid wood frame by hand. After designing and putting it together, I gilded it with thin gold colored metal leaves. Then I painted oil glazes over the gold so the frame color matches the soft glow of the painting. Outside dimensions including the frame are 30 1/2" 34 1/2"