Apple Valley Sunset, 2026 by Ray Patrick — original oil painting — 2026.005.002

Subject

Desert at sunset, looking west over a ridge. A Joshua tree and a stand of scrub stand black against the last of the light; a single bare trunk rises left of centre.

Composition

A low horizon with the sky taking two thirds, and the whole lower third given to one unbroken mass of silhouette. The dark shapes rise highest at the right, so the picture leans that way and the open sky is on the left.

Palette

Yellow at the horizon rising through orange and hot pink to deep blue at the top. Beneath it a single cobalt ridge, and over everything the near-black of the foreground — three registers, warm, cool, and dark.

Handling

The sky is stroked in short horizontal marks that stay separate, so the colour steps rather than graduates. The silhouettes are put in last, wet over dry, in quick vertical strokes that keep their own edges.

Medium and support

Oil on board. Thick throughout, with the brush direction legible everywhere and ridges standing proud of the surface. The board's edges are painted white.

Signature

No signature visible within the painted area.

From the artist:

A plein air out in the Apple Valley desert. The sun setting and the brush quickly working brings a smile to my face. I often wonder about the last time a person stood in this spot, or the next.