Desert Beauty: Day Trip Inspiration

Throughout my many travels over the years, it's become my mission to capture unique characteristics of whatever city (or country) I've visiting on (usually digital) film, and to bring those photos home and use them as a source of new inspiration to create.  Although it rained during much of my 36-hour jaunt to Arizona, I still managed to snap as many photographs as I could.

My inspiration there became the stunning variety of cactus and succulents that I simply can't find when I look out my window in Chicago.  The earthy, muted colors of the desert and sharp, grainy textures of the plants were striking, and as soon as I'm caught up on sleep, I plan on pulling out the colored pencils and sketching some new designs I have swirling in my head.

For those of you who don't live in the southwest and aren't able to surround yourself with the stunning beauty of the desert on a daily basis, I hope these images bring you some inspiration as well!

P.S.

It's Birthday Week around here, and our very own Bubby turned 15 today!  I have a special video post in the works capturing the magic of the many years I've been lucky enough to spend with this absolutely amazing creature.  Stay tuned...  (Update:  You can now watch the video tribute right here.)