featured
ARTISTS
2026 Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo - Juried Exhibition
Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo features a juried exhibition and celebration of art, culture, and park history at the Oasis of Mara in Twentynine Palms, CA. The 2026 exhibition is on display November 6-29 at the historic 29 Palms Art Gallery, 74055 Cottonwood Drive @ National Park Drive, 29 Palms, CA. This year’s juried exhibition Call for Art received 330 pieces of art submitted by 143 artists from the desert region and across California and the United States. After the jurying process, 60 artists were selected for the juried exhibition, featuring art depicting or inspired by the natural aspects or cultural history of Joshua Tree National Park.
Awards Announcement: The awards will be announced at the Awards Reception, Nov. 7, from 4 to 7 pm, at 29 Palms Art Gallery and will be posted here the next day.
Want to purchase a piece of art? The 2026 artwork images and artist bios are posted below. You can Contact Us via email to arrange a purchase. Of course, nothing replaces seeing them in person, so we invite you to come to the 29 Palms Art Gallery in November.
JTNP ART EXPO opening weekend Nov. 7 & 8, 2026 Schedule of Events
NOTE: Below are the JURIED ARTISTS & ARTWORK for 2026…. posted 10/8/2026
Raini Armstrong | Joshua Tree, CA | Stellar Silence, Watercolor 15x22
Raini Armstrong is a Southern California watercolorist inspired by color, light, and the hidden wonders of the desert. Raised by artistic parents, she grew up surrounded by artists and craftspeople, developing an early appreciation for creativity and handmade art. She discovered watercolor through children's books and seaside paintings before formally studying the medium at Copper Mountain College in 2001. Today, she draws inspiration from the desert landscape, particularly the magical hours between sundown and sunrise—the changing colors, star-filled skies, and nocturnal life that emerge after dark. Through watercolor, she celebrates the vibrant beauty and quiet wonder of the desert she calls home.
Joey Bebar | Yucca Valley, CA | Mohave Hidden Gold, Assemblage, 25x35x9.75
Joey Bebar is a multi-medium fine artist whose work is rooted in the landscapes, materials, and stories of the American West. Inspired by a lifelong connection to nature and the memory of his father, a tungsten and gold miner in the Yukon and High Sierras, Bebar transforms reclaimed wood, tree roots, desert stone, metal, glass, and plexiglass into one-of-a-kind sculptural and functional art. His years in the tile and marble industry deepened his understanding of stone and natural materials. After moving to California's High Desert, the Mojave landscape became an increasingly important influence on his work. Guided by his philosophy, "Recycle. Reclaim. Repurpose.," he allows the character, weathering, texture, and history of each material to help shape the finished piece. His work ranges from intimate rock art and spiritual gifts to substantial mixed-media creations that can take months to complete, each revealing a new story through the artist's eyes.
Ilona Benzak-Hardy | Plantation, FL | Time Traveler at the Oasis, Oil on Canvas 18x14
Born in Miami Beach, Florida, Ilona Benzak-Hardy began her classical art study at the age of 12, with yearly summer classes at the South Florida Art Institute. She attended Philadelphia College of Art and then went on to New York City working in commercial design. In 1973, she moved to Rome, where she taught figure drawing at the Accademia de Belle Arte. During her eight years abroad, she had a solo show in 1974 at the American Studies Center in Naples, Italy. After time abroad and family priorities accomplished, she has been blessed to do what she loves most, teach art and continue to paint varied subjects with balanced creative consistency and a wide range of knowledge in the visual arts. Traveling extensively to the American Southwest and Southern California over the past seven years, she has focused her passion on the profound beauty and heritage of the area.
Delphine Bordas | Palm Desert, CA | Route to the Painted Skies, Photograph 20x20
From growing up in Europe to international corporate jobs, it took Delphine Bordas 20 years to develop her photographic style to the point that she was ready to show her work and dedicate herself 100% to photography. “I knew early on that black & white was the medium where I could express myself best, and where I could ‘create’ more than a photograph. I have moved on experimenting with color textures superimposed on my black & white landscapes. My ‘photographic collages’ offer a serene warm atmosphere, almost infinite yet so personal. I am not into capturing reality. My photographs are my own vision of nature's best.”
Elaine Bron | Yucca Valley, CA | Jumbo Rock 2, Oil 9x11
No bells, no whistles, no degrees, no awards, no pedigree, paper or blue blood. Just an old lady who loves the desert and paints the desert with the God-given talent, developed by labor, given to her. “And I am pretty darn good at it,” says artist Elaine Bron. “The sole desire of my heart is to produce art people will enjoy, take home and be reminded of the good times they had in our desert.” wang92284@aol.com
Hannah Campbell | Yucca Valley, CA | A Wonderful Storm, Inktense Pencils 18x24
Hannah Campbell is a traveler and grade-school teacher who has lived in the desert since childhood. Though she has been able to explore the world, the wild beauty of her home has always called her back and inspired her. The desert taught her how to see beauty in unusual places. Now, she teaches full time in her beloved desert, hoping to instill in her students the beauty and wonder of nature. hannahgraceartworks@gmail.com
Enji Chung | Pasadena, CA | Milky Way, White Tank, Photograph 30x48
Enji Chung loves to capture the wonder and beauty of nature in all its manifestations. Specializing in nightscapes and landscape photography, she loves how the light evokes the emotion of a moment. While based in Pasadena, Joshua Tree has become a second home, a special place to explore and honor this rich desert ecosystem on the traditional homelands of the Maara’yam (Serrano), Nüwü (Chemehuevi), and Kawiya (Cahuilla), and the Aha Macave (Mohave). She is deeply grateful for this region’s Dark Sky status, the endangered Joshua tree, and the iconic rock formations, all of which should be cherished for future generations.
Brenda Cibrian | Los Angeles, CA | Midnight, White Tank Canyon, Watercolor 16x12
Possessing a stimulating artistic voice, Brenda Cibrian enchants her audiences with her contemplative, wondrous, enigmatic demeanor and transports them into another dimension that is both fantastical and familiar. Her ability to juxtapose incongruous imagery emerges as her defining characteristic, which reflects her life experiences. In addition to being a muralist, Cibrian has exhibited her work in galleries across Los Angeles and Orange counties, earning acclaim for her ability to transcend cultural boundaries through art. She has collaborated with PBS SoCal, LA Times, the city of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Paramount in California. As she embarks on her next chapter, her experiences and relationships continue to shape her exploration of human emotion. Although the future remains a mystery, she will continue to delight her audience with surprise as she evolves--drawing from her past, building on the present, and imagining the beyond.
Geniveve Collins| Joshua Tree, CA | Home, Acrylic/iMixed Media 9x19x7
Geniveve Collins was born and raised in Joshua Tree. She is earning an associate’s degree in studio art and aims to create beautiful murals that last and give people meaning. Excited to leave and further her career, unfortunately, she’ll be leaving behind her funky trees, comforting purple mountain walls, bunnies outside her window, and heartbreaking sunsets. She intends to show how the desert feels: colorful, warm, and bright, its nighttime counterpart being cold, calm, and quiet. She embraces how she saw the desert as a child when colors were brighter, clouds were fluffier, and predators came out at night. She draws on memories with her mom, burning her fingers with hot glue during late-night crafts; chasing the Milky Way with her dad; and even uselessly running after desert iguanas with her brother. This piece was made to be a goodbye love letter to her home—a thank-you for the past 20 years. Evecollins313@gmail.com
Janis Commentz | Yucca Valley, CA | My Favorite Joshua Tree, Orange Glow, Acrylic 40x30
Janis Commentz is a third generation California artist and four-decade resident of the Joshua Tree area. She is known for her color-intense palette and loose brush strokes of figures and landscapes. Commentz taught high school art and English and painting workshops. She has a BA from University of Redlands and MA in Education from California State University at San Bernardino. Since her retirement from teaching, she pursues painting full time, writing her blog, recording her podcast “Encouragement Only by Janis Commentz” and managing her online business. Commentz enjoys painting many terrains, including France. She exhibits her art in local shops and galleries and in 2020 opened her Etsy shop, French Press & Mojave Inspiration, featuring her original art and cards, calendars, and paper goods.
Chris Curry | Indio, CA | Evening Splendor, Soft Pastels 30x24
Chris Curry is a self-taught visual artist living in the Coachella Valley. Her work is rooted in a deep appreciation for color, light, and the beauty of the natural world. Working primarily in soft pastels and oils, Curry creates luminous paintings of sunsets, florals, landscapes, and reflective waters. Through carefully layered pigment, expressive marks, and a vibrant yet intentional color palette, she captures the fleeting qualities of light and the emotional impact of a moment. She chose pastel for its exceptional color intensity, immediacy, and versatility. Her ongoing practice is dedicated to refining her technique, expanding the possibilities of the medium, and creating work that celebrates the enduring relationship between light, color, nature, and emotion. clmcurry@mac.com
Kristin Czech | Morongo Valley, CA | Minerva Hoyt's Cactus, Oil on Panel 36x24
Kristin Czech was born and raised in a small desert town in California called Lucerne Valley. She received her BFA in fine arts with a focus on painting and illustration from Humboldt State University in the forest town, Arcata. Currently she resides back in a small desert town, Morongo Valley, California with her husband and two girls. This is a painting of Minerva Hamilton Hoyt presenting the cactus named after her, Mammillia Hamiltonhoytea. Minerva organized exhibitions of desert plants around the world. She founded the International Desert Conservation League with the goal of establishing parks to preserve desert landscapes. By photo documenting and presenting this data to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped to establish Joshua Tree as a National Monument in 1936. kristonite@gmail.com
Eric Deen | Yucca Valley, CA | Windowpanes, Photo on Canvas 20x30
Eric Deen is a photographer and videographer based in Yucca Valley, California. Driven by a simple appreciation for strong compositions and striking scenery, he has been capturing the world through his camera since 2016. He has built his approach through real-world experience behind the lens, further sharpening his technical eye and composition skills under the mentorship of photographer Mikeal Beland. For Deen, the camera serves as a tool to document majestic and fragile environments that deserve appreciation and protection. He continues to explore the high desert and the broader American Southwest, learning from each new environment.
Mollie Doctrow | Camarillo, CA | Leaning In, Woodcut 18x14
Mollie Doctrow has held art residencies at Mojave National Preserve, Petrified Forest National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and Archbold Biological Station. In May 2026, Doctrow was the artist-in-residence at Joshua Tree National Park. These residencies provided access to remote and pristine areas, inspiring much of her recent work. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is the recipient of many awards and grants. Moving back to California eight years ago, Doctrow has been re-discovering her home state and native California habitats. She recently completed a public art commission for the city of Camarillo, a series of ten woodcuts depicting botanical and historical sites in Camarillo. Metal plaques created from the woodcuts are currently displayed at Camarillo’s Central Plaza. Doctrow, MA, is Curator emerita, Museum of Florida Art and Culture, South Florida State College. Her studio is located at Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA.
Doug Dolde | Prescott, AZ | Cholla Garden Sun Dog, UV Print on Acrylic 24x24
Doug Dolde has been photographing the landscape of the American West since 2001. Dolde began with 4×5-inch transparency film, and currently uses an iPhone 17 Pro Max. He currently lives near Prescott, Arizona. Dolde considers a total workflow from capturing the image to producing and framing the final print as essential in producing a fine art piece of the highest quality possible. He feels that a photograph helps people see things they might not see otherwise. Dolde is a graduate of Indiana University with a BS in Mathematics. His image "Spider Rock" was published in the National Geographic book “Destinations of a Lifetime.”
Jim Federico | Yucca, AZ | Princess of Mara, Sculpture, Found Materials 43x12
Born and raised in Southern California, Jim Federico is a retired firefighter and a former union journeyman stone and marble mason currently living in northwest Arizona. He is an award-winning multimedia artist. Federico’s work honors and celebrates his love for the southwest and is influenced by southwestern art and culture. He works in photography, painting, and repurposed sculpture. Federico studied art design at UCSB, El Camino and Ventura colleges in art design. He is a charter member of the Kingman Center for The Arts, a member of the 29 Palms Art Gallery, a member of Caballeros Art Museum, and the founder and director of Yucca Area Arts Council. @jp.federico.artist
Sue Feenstra | Joshua Tree, CA | Boulders by the Road, Watercolor/Acrylic 16x20
At a very young age, Sue Feenstra’s passion for art drew her into many forms of design. Her journey as an artist has expanded through commercial graphic design and fine art, acrylic painting, stained glass, mixed media, and wearable art. Feenstra’s creations have been celebrated at art festivals, gallery exhibitions, and published in a variety of publications. “My art tells a story of the beautiful landscapes that I encounter on the back of my horse. As an avid equestrian I have spent many hours in the saddle exploring beautiful desert and mountain landscapes that I recreate in my art.” Feenstra creates traditional media with enhancements of current digital technology, which gives her work a contemporary edge while maintaining the rich culture of traditional art. Married to an architectural designer, together they design and create in their desert home in Joshua Tree that they share with two horses, two dogs, and two cats.
Marilyn Froggatt | Palm Desert, CA | Sunrise in Hidden Valley, Oiil 40x30
As a California Impressionist Painter, Marilyn Froggatt covers the landscape from the Southern California deserts to the Pacific Northwest. She feels there is something unique in every scene she captures, even if it is the same location on a different day. She uses bold brush strokes to depict the sense of time, space, and light. Froggatt was born and raised in Southern California and has resided in the Coachella Valley for many years. She paints daily and joins her fellow artist associates from the Palm Springs and Inland Empire areas several times a month to paint outdoors. She also participates in many shows and plein air competitions annually. Froggatt holds a BA degree in Social Sciences and a California Secondary Teaching Credential. She is a member of the California Art Club, Desert Art Center, Artists Center at the Galen, and Borrego Art Institute.
Elisabeth Girke | Riverside, CA | Sunset in Joshua Tree NP, Screen Print, Six Layers 11x13
Elisabeth Girke is a watercolor artist, printmaker, and photographer whose work is profoundly influenced by her journey from Poland, through Germany, and finally to California. Living as a perpetual outsider across different cultures, Girke turned to the universal language of art for comfort and expression. Drawing inspiration from the natural world and the rich tradition of storytelling, her watercolors and prints invite viewers into a shared narrative. Joshua Tree National Park holds a particularly significant place in her practice. She retreats to the desert several times a year to seek solitude, gather creative inspiration, and share dinners under the stars with family and friends. Ultimately, her art seeks to transcend borders, fostering a deeper sense of connection and understanding.
Anna Graham | Palm Desert, CA | Mine is the Morning, Oil 18x26
Award-winning artist Anna Graham, born and raised in Los Angeles, has painted since childhood. She explored many mediums, but oil painting has been her love since the age of nine. She earned a Fine Art degree from Otis Parsons School of Design, studying under Ralph Bacerra, Sam Clayberger, and Watson Cross. Her work has been exhibited nationally, with landscape as her primary focus. Joshua Tree has been part of her life since childhood. To her, Joshua Tree is more than a place—it is a feeling shaped by light, solitude, and quiet presence. Her work reflects not only what she sees, but what she experiences there. Graham paints in her Coachella Valley studio, where the desert continues to guide her practice. She is a board member of the Desert Plein Air Association and a member of the California Art Club, LPAPA, American Impressionist Society, and a juried member of Desert Art Center in Palm Springs.
Kim Halvorson | La Quinta, CA | Sunset at the Park, Oil on Canvas 12x24
Raised in Southern California and Arizona, Kim Halvorson crafts vivid oil paintings that serve as homages to the American West. With a degree in marketing and a minor in art from college in Flagstaff, Arizona, she captures the drama of landscapes through masterful use of color, light, and shadow. Her work embodies her love for the region’s diverse landscapes, a passion kindled by childhood visits to the nation’s national parks. In a harmonious blend of art and life, her marriage to a landscape photographer provides an endless well of inspiration. Passionate about plein-air painting, these outdoor sessions serve as studies for her immersive studio pieces. She aims to go beyond mere observation; her art invites viewers to feel each scene, sparking a sense of discovery and connection to the land’s history and present. She is a member of SoCalpapa, California Art Club, Desert Art Center, Lapapa, Desert Plein Air Association. @KimHalvorsonArt
Patrick Hasson | Joshua Tree, CA | A Wrinkle in Space and Time, Acrylic on Wood 24x48
Patrick Hasson is a Joshua Tree-based artist whose painting style is a vibrant blend of abstract and representational elements, characterized by his distinctive “dripping” technique rather than traditional brushwork. He employs rich, saturated colors to create energy and vitality, while exploring the interplay of light and shadow to add depth and mood. His dynamic compositions and intricate textures result from layers of dripped paint, creating a sense of motion and dimension that falls somewhere between Jackson Pollock's action painting and Van Gogh's impasto...a style he refers to as “Rainbow Pop.” Hasson spent the first 20 years of his career working as an independent filmmaker and came into painting later in life. Hasson's art has been featured on HGTV, USA TODAY, VICE, PALM SPRINGS LIFE, etc. and can be found in private collections in the US and Europe. He lives and creates art at his “Rainbowland” Studio/Gallery in Joshua Tree.
Larry Hemmerich | Thousand Palms, CA | A Day in Plein Air, Soft Pastels 12x18
Pastel artist Larry Hemmerich’s artwork is a window into his love for the natural world around him. His work is the result of hiking in the desert and mountains surrounding his Palm Springs home, working from on-location studies and in plein air. “My desire is to capture a moment that you, the beholder, may never actually see but can lose yourself in it as if to experience it for yourself.” When he discovered soft pastels, he knew he had found the medium he was looking for. He completed his first pastel in 2012, and fourteen years later he has a studio/gallery in the Backstreet Art District in Palm Springs. Hemmerich is an artist member of the California Art Club, Palm Desert Artists Council, American Artists Professional League NYC, Pastel Society of Southern CA, Pastel Society of the West Coast, and Pastel Society of America. He also serves on the board of the Desert Plein Air Association.
Fred R. Hoerr | Joshua Tree, CA | Entrance, Photograph 20x30
Since studying fine art at the University of Missouri, Fred Hoerr has merged graphics, printmaking, and painting into his multi-disciplinary artwork. After embracing digital photography in 2015, he spent a decade documenting the changing urban landscape and communities along the LA River. Now based in Joshua Tree, Hoerr focuses entirely on high desert vistas and ancient stone structures. Inspired by eons of geological transformation, he captures the desert's immutable, atemporal presence. To convey this immense scale, he shoots "sweeps," handheld multi-frame panoramas stitched together in his studio. This intuitive process allows the camera and desert light to dictate the final composition, yielding unexpected and striking imagery that honors the raw texture of the landscape.
Snake Jagger | Morongo Valley, CA | Contemplation, Acrylic on Board 20x24
Snake Jagger's complex iconography has been an important part of his work for over 40 years. His paintings are a blend of fact and fantasy, in a style he calls “whimsical surrealism.” His artwork is meant to entertain, but also to inspire thoughts of preserving our home planet. Jagger’s work has been widely exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe. He has displayed his art in the Sausalito Art Festival, La Quinta Arts Festival, Indian Wells Art Festival, Catalina Festival of Art, Tempe Art Festival, Festival of Art in El Paso, Art in the Park in Henley on the Thames in England, Park City Utah art festival, Albuquerque New Mexico festival of the arts, as well as exhibitions in the Joshua Tree and Palm Springs area. Jagger participates in the annual Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours and shows his artwork at his home gallery, Snake Jagger Studio, in Morongo Valley, by appointment.
Julianna Javier| Mammoth Lakes, CA | Red Tail in Joshua Tree, Pen & Ink 9x12
Julianna Javier is a multidisciplinary artist whose work investigates the threshold between the waking and dreaming state. Rooted in a lifelong practice of lucid dreaming and a keen observation of natural landscapes, Javier explores texture, consciousness, and symbolic subjects through intricate mark-making and layered compositions. Sourcing references from her surrounding environment in the Sierra Nevada, she approaches expression as the intersection between the seen and the unseen, and awareness turning in on itself through Art & Illustration. Javier works across pen and ink, acrylics, and mixed media on upcycled wood panels to depict meticulous detail and connect her visual narratives to the natural world. She earned a BA in Art from Florida Gulf Coast University and studied Illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Based in California’s Sierra Nevada, she continues to explore the evolution of awareness across consciousness and the subconscious through contemporary art.
Ed Keesling | Yucca Valley, CA | Desert Flora, Ceramics 16x12x12
As a studio potter, Ed Keesling throws pots on the wheel, and creates ceramic tiles, murals, and sculpture. Most of his work is high fired to 2350 F in a propane gas kiln, to achieve the best marriage of clay and glaze. He also makes coil sculpture and pottery using the “Wedged Coil” process, the subject of his Master of Arts thesis. The Ed Keesling Clayworks Studio in Yucca Valley started in 1980. “My work reflects my love of the Hi-Desert open spaces, blue skies, wildlife, rock formations, and unique plant life.” Keesling has participated in the annual Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours, has taught youth art classes and exhibited his work at 29 Palms Art Gallery for many years, and is a founding board member of the Hi-Desert Artists association and gallery in Yucca Valley, CA.
Damian Kinsella | Santa Clarita, CA | Lonesome, On'ry, and Mean, Oil on Canvas 16x20
Damian Kinsella was raised in California's Central Valley and Mountains and now lives and works in the Los Angeles area. His work is a meditation. His paintings convey a serious mood, a reflection on artifacts and found objects that point to history and memory. When painting still life, he often painstakingly recreates his subjects to get the right effect. Beading, carving, aging objects to set them back a hundred years or so, even the backgrounds of his work are often "faked" to lend authenticity to a scene. From a love for forgotten arts and crats, scale models, and dioramas, he sometimes creates an entire scene to light and paint for reference. He calls this process "honest forgery." When not in his studio he rides out to the desert to paint what he calls "sketchy places," often in moonlight. His landscape work focuses on abandonment, empty places that remain a bit wild. "I'm haunting it, it's haunting me, it's a theme."
Robert Klewitz | Woodland Hills, CA | Snow in Joshua Tree, Photograph 11x14
Robert Klewitz holds a B.S. in Education from the University of West Florida and an M.A. in Art and Photography from California State University, Fullerton. His work has been exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Cornell University, Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, the Brand Library, and Colorida Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition to his studio practice, Klewitz has had a long professional career in photography and visual production. In 1980 he founded Robert Klewitz & Associates, a fine art consulting firm specializing in photographic archives and estate work, collaborating with institutions and estates including City National Bank, Beverly Hills, and the studios of renowned photographers André de Dienes, Milton Greene, and Norman Seeff. From 1983 to 1995, he served as Producer and Studio Manager at Norman Seeff Productions, where he oversaw studio operations and production as well as producing Seeff's retrospective book “Sessions” (Whalesong Publishing, 1994).
James Michael Knauf | Rolling Hills Estates, CA | Comet in the Gloam, Photograph 12x24
James Michael Knauf (Jim) is a Southern California-based photographer and digital artist creating fine art photography that evokes wonder, scale, mystery, and the meeting of the natural and engineered worlds. Coming from an engineering/aerospace background, his work merges the idea of engineering precision with atmospheric, even cosmic emotion. His diverse work includes award-winning landscapes, night-scape astrophotography, and images of aerospace, city streets, and architecture. Selected works have appeared at the Palos Verdes Arts Center Summer and Winter shows, The Artists Gallery, Covet Gallery, Gallery of Hermosa, Hugo Rivera Gallery, Gallery Three Six One, and other venues in Southern California; Decode Gallery, in Tucson, Arizona; and nationally in the pages of Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine. Knauf is Vice President of the Photographic and Digital Artists (PADA) group at the Palos Verdes Art Center.
Tejaswini Kumar | Irvine, CA | The Birth of Joshua, Stoneware Clay 4.5x9.5x9
Tejaswini Kumar is a botanical sculptor whose work reimagines the language of flowers and branches through the medium of clay. Her contemporary botanical works transcend traditional forms, transforming petals, stems, and branches into deeply expressive studies of individuality. As an artist, she has always seen beauty through different lens and grew up captivated by the smallest details like the curve of a petal, the rhythm of a stem, the texture of bark, that are often overlooked. For her, art became an exploration to translate observation into creation. Her submitted work, The Birth of Joshua, examines the extraordinary relationship between the Joshua tree and the Yucca moth. With an enlarged Joshua tree flower, she draws attention to the delicate biological partnership that allows both species to survive. This interdependence has helped sustain generations of Joshua trees, shaping the birth of Joshua Tree National Park.
Angel La Canfora | Temecula, CA | Mojave Nocturne, Stained Glass 12x12
Angel La Canfora has always found peace and healing through music and art. In 2005, she was pursuing a college degree when she suffered a health setback and was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia. Also a singer-songwriter, she began to find playing instruments painful, so she sought gentler creative outlets. This was how she came to visual art, chiefly, mosaics and photography. Within a year of making her first mosaic she was exhibiting fine art mosaics in galleries and online. Her photos have been featured in many publications and can be licensed through stock agencies such as Adobe and Alamy. La Canfora’s stained-glass mosaic artworks have appeared in a number of past JTNP Art Expo juried exhibitions.
John V. Lazo | Houston, TX | Depth of Field, Rock Pile, Sunset, Photograph 20x30
John Lazo is a fine art photographer whose passion for the craft began at age 12, when he won a Canon 7D in a Ventura County water conservation contest. That early spark grew into a lifelong practice rooted in landscape, street, and nature photography. Originally from Southern California, Lazo has returned to Joshua Tree National Park across five separate years—2021, 2023, 2024, twice in 2025, and again in 2026—drawn back by the desert's stillness, its strange and sculptural light, and the way its silence sharpens the senses. His work seeks to translate that feeling into something a viewer can carry with them. Lazo now lives in Houston, Texas, where he continues to build his fine art photography business alongside a full-time career, selling limited-edition prints of his national park, landscape, and street work through his online gallery.
Alane Levinsohn | Joshua Tree, CA | Vigilance Shared | Oil on Gold Leaf 20x16
Alane Levinsohn studied drawing at California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland and continued her education at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Her training in both classical and contemporary approaches informs her deep engagement with the natural world. “Rooted in the stark beauty of the desert, my work draws inspiration from the timeless language of Russian iconography, where gold, stillness, and symbolism invite contemplation. I translate that sacred visual tradition into a contemporary landscape, elevating the animals and plants of the desert into icons of presence and meaning. Jackrabbits, ravens, yucca, and wildflowers are rendered not merely as subjects, but as quiet emissaries, holding space between the earthly and the eternal.” Levinsohn’s work has received recognition across the Southwest and beyond, including juried and curated shows from Chicago to Southern California, and her art featured in American Art Collector magazine.
Nikol Manes | Los Angeles, CA | Joshua Tree Nocturne, Les Paul Ukulele, Mosaic 26x8.5x2
Nikol Manes is a self-taught artist whose passion for mosaics began in 1996. Over the years, her practice moved through phases of quiet and intensity, eventually transforming from a casual hobby into a focused and fulfilling body of work. Her mosaic instruments began with a broken guitar found discarded in the trash. “I rebuilt it in glass and cabochons, giving it new life and inspiring a series of fully playable mosaic guitars and ukuleles that exist between sculpture and function. Using hand-cut glass, mirror, and other materials, I build each design fragment by fragment, allowing irregularity and breakage to remain visible. I’m drawn to enduring symbols—stars, hearts, Hamsas, cacti, desert scenes, aliens, and geometric forms.” Mane’s work is rooted in repetition, labor, intuition, and transformation. Her instruments remain fully playable while always retaining their identity as art. They are meant to be held, played, displayed, strung, spun, or hung.
Joseph McFadden | San Luis Obispo, CA | The Valley Below, Oil, 10x20
Joe McFadden has painted California landscapes, portraits, and still life in representational style and oil paint for more than 30 years. He has been a juried member of California Art Club since 2010 and Oil Painters of America since 2008. He is also a member of California plein-air associations in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Laguna Beach, and San Francisco areas. “I credit my parents for my devotion to painting. My mother, Sarah, introduced me to the application of oil paint. She was a colorist for a portrait photography studio in the early 1960s. My father, Robert, was a portrait photographer. At an early age, I apprenticed with Sarah at the kitchen table. I would apply the background color on family portraits with wads of cotton dampened with turpentine. She would finish the subjects…. Through this experience, I learned to approach painting as important work. As much a discipline, as it is a creative expression.”
Ilona Mercier | Yucca Valley, CA | Last Light, Alcohol Ink on Ceramic Tile 4x16
Artist Ilona Mercier has resided in Yucca Valley since 1980 and recently retired from Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree after 24 years of service. As for her art, she says: “As a kid I loved to draw and would always give my drawings as gifts, but it wasn’t until my sister-in-law introduced me to alcohol inks that the bug hit me to paint. The magnificent colors got my attention. They weren’t like a pencil where you can control every line. It is this lack of control on my part as an artist that I had to learn to embrace because my nature is to try and control them. My paintings generally embrace both learned control techniques mixed with the beautiful spontaneity of the inks.” Mercier is one of the featured artists in the book by Cathy Taylor, “Pigments of Your Imagination-Creating with Alcohol Inks” 2nd Edition, available on Amazon.
Kathy Miller | Joshua Tree, CA | Redtail Hawk Food Drop, Photograph 11x14
Kathy Miller moved to Southern California 31 years ago and retired to Joshua Tree 9 years ago. As a road trip traveler, she has photographed 42 US states and countless national and state parks. Her first published photos came from photographing live concerts from 1990 to 1997. Taking up hiking and long distant backpacks in 1997, landscape photography became a tool to share nature with others who may never see the beauty of what’s beyond the roadside. Miller’s landscape work has been juried into several Orange County Fair Photography Exhibitions, and six of her desert photographs were displayed at San Bernardino Natural History Museum during the celebration of the signing of the Desert Protection Act. She worked as a portrait photographer for 14 years, owning her own studio, and now has an on-demand photo studio in her home. Her redtail hawk project in Joshua Tree National Park was a dedicated six-week endeavor.
Mitch Miller | Joshua Tree, CA | Early Riser in Joshua Tree NP, Photograph 24x36
Adversity often accompanies captivating landscape photography, and southern California native Mitch Miller has grown comfortable with physical exertion, cold, heat, rain, snow, cactus needles, abrasive rocks, and even snakes, which is how he can enjoy capturing evocative art from nature with his cameras. Miller so fell in love with Joshua Tree National Monument (now Park), he spent his birthday there each year 1984-1994 and was married in the park in 1999. He and his wife Kathy moved to Joshua Tree in 2017, and he’s come to know the park well. Over time, adventure photography evolved into landscape photography as he set waypoints for compositions and returned for more memorable light. Photographing since 1981, he is mostly self-taught over many years and miles of trails and off-trail routes through the Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, and Colorado Desert. He has won numerous awards with his landscape photography and received the Superintendents Award at the 2024 JTNP Art Expo.
Diane Morgan | Palm Desert, CA | Joshua Tree Bee, Oil 24x30
Diane Morgan is an award-winning artist working in both watercolor and oil. Her work has been featured in publications including American Art Collector, International Artist, Southwest Art, American Artist, Artist Magazine, Sunset Magazine, Art Patron, Palm Springs Life, The Art of Watercolor, and Watercolor Artist. After managing the Public Art Program for the City of Palm Springs from 1992-2003, she now teaches art classes and paints full-time. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Michigan, Painting Major. Morgan currently teaches watercolor, oil, and acrylic at Palm Springs area art centers and private clubs. Her favorite subjects are large florals, still life, and vintage cars.
Doyle Moyer | Yucca Valley, CA | Quimby Quail Family, Pen & Prisma Colored Pencil 8x10.5
Doyle Moyer started drawing as a child in the Southern California desert to entertain himself and grew a bond with the Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree National Park, loving the open spaces and blue sky. He learned to draw from the John Gnagy Art Institute booklets his mother had lying around. This helped him to develop pen and ink drawing skills for the rest of his life. He attended junior college majoring in Art and later got into marketing graphics. “I picked up the pen now and then when I lived in Yosemite producing a few silkscreened shirts and chef’s smocks until I started working for Time Warner Interactive. Computers enabled such creativity, and I assisted in a variety of graphic designs for premiere Internet chatroom environments at The Palace.com.” Now he presents desert life in ink and colored pencils and specializes in hiking, drawing, and photographing the outdoor life of Joshua Tree National Park.
Janet Nelson | Palm Desert, CA | Mojave Twilight, Oil 24x30
Janet Nelson is a representational impressionist oil painter based in the desert community of Palm Springs. Her work bridges plein air painting with reflective studio practice, capturing the unique light and atmosphere of the Coachella Valley and the broader California desert. With a background in biological sciences and physical therapy, she brings a deep understanding of human vulnerability and resilience to her canvas. She views creative expression as a vital pathway to healing, using a natural color palette to translate the emotional footprints that landscapes leave on us. Her textured, light-filled paintings of desert landscapes and still life serve as an open invitation to slow down. Ultimately, her art provides a peaceful, comforting sanctuary, allowing viewers to pause, connect, and find a sense of calm. Her artwork has been recognized in regional plein air competitions, and her paintings are held in private collections throughout the Southwest.
Lynne O'Connor | Portland, OR | Joshua Tree No. 9, Colored Pencil 24x18
Lynne O’Connor is a landscape artist who grew up in Colorado and California and lived in Alaska for 10 years before making her way to Oregon. She found her love of art early and has been studying and creating art ever since. Her works are inspired by her love of nature and travel, with a particular emphasis on the American Southwest, the Mediterranean, and Mexico. Her biggest inspiration is her grandmother, a landscape artist, who encouraged her to pursue art, and hosted many trips to the art museum where she fell in love with the post impressionists. All her work is inspired by sketches and photographs taken during her travels. Her work aims to convey her love of heat, sun, and color, and she wants her viewers to get a strong sense of the place. She works in colored pencil and watercolor. oconnor.lynne@gmail.com
Eunice E. Oh | Diamond Bar, CA | Dancing Clouds at Dawn, Photograph 20x30
California-based photographer Eunice Eunjin Oh specializes in capturing the beauty of nature and landscapes. She has dedicated years to photographing stunning moments in national parks and has been recognized for her work with awards in numerous group exhibitions and photography contests. She was also a juried artist in the 2025 Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo juried exhibition. “Capturing nature's wondrous moments. Through the lens, I capture the sunlight, the wind, and the seasons' flow, recording beautiful landscapes in a single photograph.” @euniceohphotography
Brandon ONeill | Long Beach, CA | Thoroughfare, Oil 12x16
Brandon ONeill is a southwest convert by way of Pennsylvania, residing in Southern California for the past decade. Always keeping creatively busy, he has previously been featured in the JTNP Art Expo with his photography and sculpture work. The past few years have seen a return to paint with a shift from acrylic into oil. Within his work there’s a steady pull toward open land and big weather: wide plains, far horizons, and skies that churn with movement and mood. ONeill paints to transport to those moments where clouds gather, light shifts, and the world feels still yet on the verge—the deep breath before the wind howls and thunder booms. brandononphoto@gmail.com
Melisa RImada | Twentynine Palms, CA | Joshua Tree Night Sky, Fiber & Textile 36x48
Melisa Rimada is a fiber artist based in Twentynine Palms. Inspired by the beauty of the Mojave Desert, she specializes in macramé textile art that celebrates the iconic Joshua tree and the surrounding desert landscape. Drawing inspiration from the textures, colors, and quiet beauty of the desert, she has developed a distinctive approach to creating hand-knotted Joshua trees and fiber landscapes. Each piece is thoughtfully crafted to capture the spirit of the Mojave while showcasing the artistry and craftsmanship of traditional macramé in a fresh, contemporary way. Rimada has participated in the Hwy 62 Art Tours and has exhibited her work in gallery shows, including The Border and Beyond at Borrego Art Institute and the Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo. Her work has also been featured in the California Welcome Center annual contest, Cathedral City Art Festival, Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival, and the Wildflower Festival. @diydreamerstudio
Jennifer Ruggiero | Twentynine Palms, CA | Hidden Treasures, Photograph 16x24
Born and raised in New York City, with a lifelong passion for music and art, photographer Jennifer Ruggiero’s pursuit of a music career brought her from the Jazz clubs of New York City to the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. After a career as an Interactive Producer/Designer/Director on projects for HBO, Comedy Central, Mattel, and Warner Brothers, she switched to a career designing and teaching classes in Digital Imaging and New Media Production. Ruggiero’s work has been exhibited widely including The DNJ Gallery, Duncan Miller Gallery, The Cause Gallery, YVARTS, VoyageLA, JTAG, The Glass Outhouse Gallery, 29 Palms Art Gallery, DAC PS, and Perez Art District PS. Her photographs have been featured in publications including VoyageLA, Creative Lenz, F-Stop Magazine, Lenscratch, RAP- 10 by Jeffrey Crussell, Hi-Desert Star, High Desert Test Sites—Limited Edition Postcard Project, and LA Center for Photography Catalog.
Esther Shaw | Yucca Valley, CA | Sandstone Canyon at Dusk, Acrylic on Canvas 16x20
Esther Shaw was born and raised in Boston and is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art (BFA, painting major). She took graduate art classes at University of Arizona, Tucson, and a graduate education course TESL at the University of California, Irvine. She has worked as an architectural illustrator and an art teacher for Santa Ana Unified School District, Coastline Community College, and Copper Mountain Community College. Shaw retired in 2004 and moved from Costa Mesa to Yucca Valley in pursuit of peace, nature and endless painting. Previously, she was owner, curator, and exhibiting artist of The Spezzano Gallery, Long Beach, CA; exhibiting artist member of the SCA Project Gallery and Gallery 57, Pomona, CA; exhibitor/studio holder of the Santora Arts Building, Santa Ana, CA; and was selected for the Judy Chicago Envisioning the Future Project. She was co-director of SCA Gallery and is a member of Hi-Desert Artists Gallery and the Desert Arts Council.
Jeff Skelly | Sunland, CA | A Puffy Cloud, Pastel Drawing 8x6
Jeff Skelly's oil paintings blend the vibrant color of Impressionism with the subtle tonal qualities of the Old Masters, creating original landscapes, florals, and figurative works. He is inspired by a deep, sensory appreciation of nature's beauty—the crisp mountain air, shifting light across vast open spaces, and the quiet stillness found in natural places. A college painting class revealed a way to channel those lived impressions in art. Today, his work captures the glow of a fleeting moment, the atmosphere of a place, and the emotional presence of people moving through their world—creating paintings that resonate across language and culture. Skelly graduated from Cal State Northridge with a BA in 1989 and continued studies at the California Art Institute and UCLA extension. He taught for several years at a private art school and currently teaches on an individual basis.
Cher Townsend | Yucca Valley, CA | Traveling Through the Desert, Clay Sculpture 24x35x18
Artist Cher Townsend loves making things, mostly figurative sculptures in clay. Some are fun pieces that are part animal and part human with a story for the viewer to figure out. Recently she’s been creating desert and western pieces. Her work is displayed at Middle Ridge Wine Tasting Gallery in Idyllwild, CA, where she’s been a permanent artist since 2016. Her sculptures are in the permanent collection at the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe and have been exhibited at 29 Palms Art Gallery, Borrego Art Institute, and American Museum of Ceramic Art, as well as galleries and events in Idyllwild and the Morongo Basin. Among her credits, she was the Featured Artist in Encaustic Arts magazine in June 2018, was named Art Alliance of Idyllwild Artist of the Year in 2017 and 2020, and has won awards in the Art Alliance of Idyllwild shows and the Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo.
DeAnna Valdez | Yucca Valley, CA | Creative Moon, Photograph 20x16
DeAnna Valdez discovered photography at the age of 15 in high school, going on to study at the School of Visual Arts in NY and completing her BA at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. For the past 38 years operating in Los Angeles, Nashville, and here in the desert, she has photographed for record labels and musicians, food and beauty products, as well as weddings and events. “In 2021 I started a project in which I created a technique that would alter my work, making it more abstract with vibrant colors and textures. I have since applied this technique to my current body of work.” She has displayed online based in Canada and locally at JTAG, 29 Palms Art Gallery, Beatnik, Desert Art Woman, Joshua Tree Distillery as well as Twenty 20 Gallery in Oceanside, and she participates in the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours in October each year. toblynphotography@gmail.com
Raymundo Valdez | San Francisco, CA | Red Skyline in Joshua Tree, Oil on Canvas 24x36
Raymundo Valdez is a Mexican-American fine artist known for his vibrant oil paintings that reinterpret urban and natural landscapes through his signature diamond-like fractal style. Based in San Francisco and Palm Springs, his work transforms cities, deserts, and cultural landmarks into luminous compositions rich with rhythm, color, and atmosphere. In 2025, Valdez's painting was selected as the SF Open Studios Guide Cover Winner, one of ArtSpan's highest honors, and another painting received the Juror's Choice Honorable Mention at the ArtSpan AMPLIFY exhibition. In 2026, he presented his solo exhibition, Prismatic City: Landmarks in Light, at the KALW Gallery in San Francisco. Earlier honors include awards at the 12th Annual Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition (2024), the Desert Plein Air Association's Paint the Desert competition (2024), and the Tom of Finland Foundation's Emerging Artist Competition (2009). His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Latin America.
Marie VanDorp-Skelly | Sunland, CA | Time Is of the Essence, Oil 30x15
Southern California artist Marie Van Dorp-Skelly graduated from Cal State Northridge and continued her studies at the California Art Institute. She has served as Program Director for Mission: Renaissance Fine Art School for over 30 years and enjoys watching her students grow and develop their artistic skills and creativity. She has exhibited in a variety of art shows, including the Palm Springs Desert Art Museum, the Yosemite Renaissance Art Show, “Power and Voice: A Women’s Art Exhibit,” and the “Rejoice” Art Show. She received Best of Show in 2020 at the Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition and has also exhibited in the JTNP Art Expo juried exhibition in 2022 and 2024. mariemelskell@gmail.com
Sal Vasquez | Palmdale, CA | Joshua Sunrise, Oil on Canvas Board 12x16
Sal Vasquez is a native Southern Californian who grew up in the shadows of the Arroyo Seco, also known as “Artists’ Alley,” in Alhambra. In his mid-20s, he met plein air painter Sam Hyde Harris with whom he developed a lifelong friendship. He was invited on plein air painting trips with Hyde Harris and artists Don Mills and Karl Albert. From these artists, he honed his plein air painting skills and his love of painting outdoors. Vasquez attended the Art Center School of Design where he met artists Reynold Brown and Putt Putman and through these two artists, he developed his interest in western art. Vasquez has been an exhibiting artist for many years throughout Southern California, and in 2016, out of dozens of artists’ entries nationwide, his painting of “Headstone Rock” at Joshua Tree was chosen to receive the purchase award at the National Parks 100th Anniversary Art Competition. sal4art2@gmail.com
Sharon Volcic | Yucca Valley, CA | Copper Morning, Acrylic 11x14
Sharon Volcic loves to paint. She learned about "Fluid Art" while watching a video on You Tube and fell in love with it. She pours the liquid paint onto her canvas, then lifts the edges to allow the wet paint to flow across her canvas and make its magic, always a surprise of texture and colors. When the poured paint is dry, she uses brushes, a toothbrush, a straw, a sponge, or other tools and techniques of this art form to paint clouds, trees, mountains, stars, etc., and creates her own unique artwork. Sharon Volcic and her husband live in Yucca Valley, California, where they both went to high school, raised their children, and now live to experience and appreciate—and paint—the distinctive beauty of our California desert. sharonvolcic@gmail.com
Juliette Vos | Palm Sprngs, CA | Night Light, Mixed Media 14x11
Juliette Vos has exhibited her art across Southern California, the U.S., and internationally. Her art education included Parson’s New School in New York, Heatherly’s and Chelsea College of Art in London, and Academy of Art in San Francisco. In 2022 to 2025 she was exhibitor and owner of Desert Art Woman Gallery and Studios in Palm Springs. The gallery helped host the Perez Road Art Walk every month, attended by hundreds of art patrons and known for its fundraising for the Oswit Land Trust, Wyld Womxn, and Pride events. She later moved on to pursue more conceptual art. “Desert landscapes are often environments of pure abstraction, where clarity, emptiness, and silence can simultaneously be a physical and psychological experience. Joshua Tree National Park itself has a stillness that rewards patience. As we experience the desert, a place that may initially feel empty, we are continually astonished by the amount of life which is all around.” @desertartwoman
William P. Walsh | Indio, CA | Stone Illumination, Framed Print 25x32
William Patrick Walsh is a retired engineer, residing in Indio, CA and pursuing his lifelong interest in fine art photography. His principal interest is landscapes and old western towns, and he is particularly inspired by the vast wonders of America’s National Parks. Walsh enjoys collating fresh ideas and advances in digital photography, creating unique and original images. His approach to producing art through photography drives the creative output of the images that he makes. As a photographer, he is always searching for beautiful moments occurring in everyday life, viewing every photo shoot as an opportunity to capture those moments and share them with the world. He is a member of the Artists Council in Palm Desert, CA, the 29 Palms Artists’ Guild, and the Coachella Valley Desert Camera Club. His work has been shown in shows and exhibitions in both Palm Desert and 29 Palms. wpwalsh7@gmail.com
Valeree Woodard | Joshua Tree, CA | Wonderland of Rocks, Stained Glass 12.5x17
Valeree Woodard is a self-taught mosaic and stained-glass artist. Working in hand cut art glass, she creates artwork that is on the contemporary side of design with classic techniques and modern nuances. Influenced by the amazing landscape, beautiful skies, colors of the desert, and living on the border of Joshua Tree National Park, color is her driving factor. Since moving to Joshua Tree 20+ years ago, Woodard became involved in efforts to save dark skies, animal protection, and the desert—a passion she finds very rewarding. "Save The Desert” is her motto! Surrounded by art as a child, her mother was a graphic illustrator and created art all her life. They learned the art of stained glass together. Valeree acquired a degree in visual merchandising and worked in the field for 25 years. She appreciates the use of design, space, and color, which continues in her artwork today. desertmosaicdesign@gmail.com
Steven Wybenga | Morongo Valley, CA | Desert Portal, Oil on Canvas 12x12
Steven Wybenga lives in Morongo Valley, immersed in and surrounded by the beauty and mystique of the hi-desert. He works as a full-time Registered Nurse for a local hospice agency and paints daily to find his center and to capture and honor the natural beauty of the desert. His landscape paintings are an interpretation of this vast and beautiful but threatened desert. “Artists have long documented our stunning desert, drawing attention and awareness to the public of this ever-changing land. The desert remains at risk from human exploitation, fire, pollution, and climate change. The responsibility to advocate the desert ecosystem rests in all our hands.” Wybenga has painted under accomplished artists in San Francisco, the Coachella Valley, and the hi-desert. He was a grant recipient of Visual Aid of San Francisco, was a former juried exhibitor in the Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition and is a juried member of Desert Art Center in Palm Springs.
Kathryn Young | Cherry Valley, CA | Light Steps, Pastels 16x12
Kathryn Young is a pastel artist working on impressionistic landscapes in Southern California. She loves working with soft pastels because of their pure visual dynamic colors and mark making ability. She gains inspiration from her time traveling overseas and teaching for the Department of Defense. Her mentors are Albert Handel, Aline Ordman, Jacob Agular, Karen Margulis, Marla Baggetta, and numerous others. Young has shown her paintings in Pastel 100 Magazine, Pastel Society of the West Coast, Pastel Society of Southern California, Red Rock Pastel Society of Nevada, American Impressionist Society, and International Pastel Society of Pastelist. She has shown in the Hilbert Museum, Gilbert Museum, Desert Art Center in Palm Springs, and Redlands, CA. 36keyoung@gmail.com
PREMIER Sponsors
Many thanks to our loyal premier sponsors who have supported our arts organization and its flagship event, the JTNP Art Exposition! It is due to their generous donations and volunteerism that this event allows us to celebrate art each year.
Join us in supporting our local business sponsors by patronizing their businesses! PARTNERS & SPONSORS
