“Twilight on Coachella Valley” by Paul Rosiak.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY DESERT PLEIN AIR ASSOCIATION
Eighty plein-air artists from near and far will converge on the Coachella Valley in January for the third annual Paint the Desert festival and exhibition. The event, organized by the Desert Plein Air Association (DPAA), begins with paint-outs at the Santa Rosa and Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center in Palm Desert, the Cove Oasis trailhead in La Quinta, and The Plaza in Palm Springs. The artists study the locations, pick their vantage points, and paint on site over four days before delivering their canvases to the Artists Center at The Galen in Palm Desert for exhibition from Jan. 18 to Feb. 4.
The exhibition features two companion shows featuring even more desert landscape paintings — one of which will focus on depictions of the historic Shumway Ranch in the Santa Rosa Mountains above Palm Desert.
“Prickly Pear 2023” by Deborah Newman.
“Araby Wash” by Elaine Mathews.
“Shumway Ranch Vista” by Sunny Patton.
Plein air festivals have come and gone in the Coachella Valley over the years, most recently the La Quinta Art Foundation’s event in the early 2000s. The DPAA — founded by Diane Moore (past president of Coachella Valley Watercolor Society and Desert Art Center) and Daniel Foster (former executive director of Riverside Art Museum) — is dedi- cated to organizing an annual event that also includes a kickoff dinner, workshops, a reception, and an awards program.