TAMARISK BUSH

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What is tamarisk?
Tamarisk (also known as salt cedar) is a deciduous shrub or small tree from Eurasia. Tamarisk can grow as high as 25 feet tall. The bark on saplings and young branches is purplish or reddish-brown. Leaves are scale-like, alternate, with salt-secreting glands. Flowers are small and the petals are reddish, pinkish, or white. Each plant can produce as many as 500,000 seeds annually. The seeds are dispersed by wind, water, and animals. Seeds are small with a tuft of hair attached to one end enabling them to float long distances by wind and water. Seeds are short-lived and can germinate within 24 hours after dispersal, sometimes while still floating on the water.

How did it get here?
Eight species of Tamarisk were first brought to North America in the 1800s from Southern Europe or the eastern Mediterranean region (DiTomaso 1998). The species were first planted as ornamentals and later as windbreaks, and to stabilize river banks. Tamarix species escaped cultivation and are now widespread throughout the United States, with heavier concentrations in the Southwest.

SAGUARO BLUFF

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     This spot is about a half mile down the river bed where the coyote stand and lookout over the valley.

DESERT RIVER BED

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     This  is a view of the river bed where I hit my golf balls. After the spring floods there is a small creek like flow in the lower part of the painting where the  water runs for weeks afterwards.

BLUE WINDOW

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      This is the garden shed in my yard. The blue window grabbed my attention. There was a lot of sunlight bouncing around playing with the shadows on this one.

LAST OF THE FLOODS

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     This was the last bit of water remaining from the summer floods in the river. A couple years ago the water got up to 35 feet deep in places, washed out part of a RV Park. The river remains dried up for  most of  the winter, making it a good golf driving range.

SUNSET SAGE

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   This is the second in a series I'm going to do on locations within walking distance of my studio here in Black Canyon City, Arizona. My studio is on a cliff looking out over a river valley that my dogs and I hike every day. This was done just  before the sun went down behind the distant mountains. I was sitting down amongst all this sage brush with the sun lighting up the tops and creating shadows down deep.

WILD HORSE VALLEY and Backpack information

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          The weather here in Arizona is cooling off. I threw on my backpack and the dogs  and  I went down to the river bed to do some painting. This  was  the first one.

This is my Kelty Redwing 50 with my Standard Size Plein Air System

That's Lexi telling me to get to work. I seldom use an umbrella, but this is how I use it.

Kelty Redwing 50 with my palette, wet panel carrier, brush holder, and  paper towels in the main section. My plastic trash bags are in one zippered side pocket and my extra thinner is in the other side pocket.

The center compartment holds insect repellent, sunscreen, palette knives, drawing materials and paint tubes.

My brush cleaner container is in the very top compartment.

This is the Kelty Redwing 40 with the MINI Plein Air System ready for longer hikes. I always strap the tripod on one side and  the Panel Holder on the other.

Another set up with my backpack tied to the leg of the tripod in case  of wind.