These interesting trees are found only in the California, Arizona and Nevada high deserts. The California range starts at Palmdale, a bout a half hour north of where I live. I took these photographs in late December after heavy rains, at the Red Rock Canyon State Park, a little farther north.
The largest trees are thought to be hundreds of years old. They do not form rings, and are evergreen, but the old fronds cover the bark similar to the way some palm trees grow. (Some people call Joshua trees yucca palms.) Woodpeckers love them and nest in them!
This was a fiendishly difficult project for me, and took several weeks. I realized part way in that I was not seeing the color correctly-- that everything that grows in the desert is greyed-down lavender, beige, or green, and that the landscape coloring is very subtle. Layering the colors was very challenging. And then there is the issue of my normal loosey-goosey style, the looseness of watercolor as a medium, and the starkness of the subject. I think it would have been much easier to tackle in oils, which would have allowed me to layer on color and texture. Maybe I should consider trying that.
