Flower Power
The wild beauty of Southwestern botanicals is in full bloom at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.
Agave, prickly pear, oleander, saguaro and succulents. These are just a few of the many botanicals you’ll find in the Arizona desert. And from June 8 through October 20, visitors can view a wide array of desert flora depicted by Arizonan artists at Desert Caballeros Western Museum in the upcoming exhibition
Flower Power: Desert Botanicals. Featured artists include oil painter Dyana Hesson, romantic realist Jeanne Bonine, contemporary artist Beth Zink, Sonoran Desert native Sheila Kollasch and fine artist Matilda Essig.
Bonnie, whose work gives an up-close, intricate view of vibrant desert flowers, says, “With dreamy backgrounds, my larger-than-life watercolor and oil botanicals lure the viewer
into the complexity of the detailed subjects I paint. This creates a symbiotic relationship between the art, nature and the lover of both.” She adds, “The key signatures seen in my desert works are the compelling use of light and transparency, the strength of color and the soft brush touch of a seasoned romantic painter.”
For Zink, anything and everything floral has always been a favorite. “I’ve had a lifelong love affair with flowers, ranging from childhood memories of hyacinths and peonies in the Northeast, to carpets of wildflowers in the mountains of Colorado, and now decades of the exotic cacti in the Southwest,” she says. “The signature of my painting style is a recognizable use of bold, imaginative color and meticulous attention to detail. I’m enchanted by the dramatic beauty of desert flowers, and strive to reflect their magnificence in my work.” Flower Power will host a free open house reception from
5:30 to 7 p.m. on June 7 at the museum in Wickenburg, Arizona. Family friendly activities will be offered at the event, and several of the featured artists will be in attendance. For more information, visit www.westernmuseum.org.