24 × 30” acrylic on canvas.

This is Mooney Falls, a major waterfall on the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona, known for its dramatic 200-foot drop into a turquoise pool. The pool gets its vibrant color from calcium carbonate in the water, which forms the ever-changing limestone rock formations around Havasu creek. The creek ultimately merges with the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

When I was 14, my parents took my sister and I rafting down the lower Colorado River, passing the confluence of Havasu creek. I credit this trip with sparking my love for the desert, which I rediscovered when I moved to Colorado in 2015. Something about this harsh, ever-changing starlit wilderness feels magical to me.