Title: Mountain Trails
Year: 2020
Size: 12 x 9 x 5 inches
Technique: Oil on canvas - Contemporary Romantic Impressionism with Palette Knife

Moving to a rural area permanently was a major change for Roxy who had spent 28 years in a tiny apartment in Los Angeles. Suddenly, there is space, time and dimension. Inspired by the bike trails in and around Temecula and Murrieta, California that lead a person through rocky hills and rugged terrain filled with their own Southwestern flavor of beauty in the form of mountains, cactus, cotton-wood trees and brilliantly colored flowers and birds. Because it is so dry in the area, the ground is lacking grass and every element seems to protrude from the earth and the distance in an unusual way specific to this area. Anything that does grow is larger than life, singing “Look at me!” Roxy decided to paint this piece with palette knives and thick, buttery paint to emphasize this aspect of the landscape, inviting a viewer to experience it as though he were present right here walking or riding a bike on a little dirt trail through wine country. Do you feel the arid breeze?