Canyon Drive
2024. Acrylic, charcoal, paper on canvas. 11 x 14 in.

The Desert Art Center, where this work of mine is currently displayed, is on Palm Canyon Drive, the historic “main street” of Palm Springs. Casually glamorous, relaxed, small-town but resort-y in all the best ways, Palm Canyon Drive lies right at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, which suddenly arise and soar in rosy, rocky, wild splendor almost straight up into the blue, blue desert sky. If you look carefully you might see a big-horned sheep on the slopes, almost close enough to touch.

I’ve driven and walked many canyons in my life. Some wild, some terraced with humanity. However you approach it, the experience is always dramatic, a forced engagement with the high above and the far below. It can be like rappelling into the earth, like becoming a river, like climbing into the sky.

I was in Palm Springs yesterday to rally against self-appointed kings on this Presidents’ Day. The rally was held on the steps of City Hall, a Mid-Century classic designed by quintessential Palm Springs architect Albert Frey. At one point the crowd parted good-naturedly to allow through a bus touring as part of Modernism Week; Palm Springs celebrates its culture with pride. Those gathered were many, the spirits high, the resolve heartening.

“Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense – the creative act.” This quote by poet Kenneth Rexroth was recently shared with me by a friend. One does not like to think we are quite at the ruin of the world, but perhaps it’s time to act like it. We will need many, many creative acts if we are to save our world. And never-ending creative acts to defend our spirit.

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