Purple Desert Sky

6x6 quick watercolor desert landscape done last of August, an imaginary scene using leftover paint. I thought the sky should be purple to frame the various cactus. This is in my Master's Touch sketchbook, 80 lb paper. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Summer Saguaro

36x24 watercolor and acrylic on watercolor canvas, done last month before all the art shows started. With this simple design the elegant desert saguaro shows off its multicolored self along with its sharp pointed cactus thorns. The cactus itself is watercolor and background is acrylic over watercolor. Using an old credit card, I pulled acrylics down from the top to bottom. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Saguaro Goldfinch and Flowers

14x11 mixed media and collage on Crescent matboard done last part of May. Using felt tip, ink, and acrylic markers, I colored in the flowers and saguaro. Various papers were cut and glued to the image. Lastly I cut out a watercolor goldfinch bird from my sketchbook and adhered it to the top floral area. Dilute white acrylic was lightly washed over the too pink background to tone it down. All in all, a fun creative piece that would fit into anyone's decor. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Cactus Glory

8.5x5.5 mixed media of Winsor Newton grey fineliner 0.3 pen, watercolor, colored pencils done last month in mixed media sketchbook. Another imaginary desert cactus and foliage scene up close. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Desert Day Cactus

9x12 watercolor using White Nights and Tombow markers on Fabriano Bristol 100 lb paper done last week. In this imaginary desert scene, cactus pad leaves were put in first using various markers. Lastly, I sketched in a southwestern tile roof building in the background to fill empty space. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Desert Mystery Woman

11x14.75 watercolor, gouache, and ink line accents finished last week on Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper. I had started with an abstract background then added a head and arm but put it away not sure if I wanted to complete this imaginary mysterious figure. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith