Darcie Peet

Exploring the many trails of Tucson’s Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in search of spring surprises and color, I walked out the loop trail to the very far west sector of the park. From that high point one looks down and out over the flat plains of the Avra and Altar Valleys dotted with slivers of glistening reservoirs reflecting the day’s blue sky. Barely discernible in the distance are the Baboquivari Mountains with distinct, thumb-shaped Baboquivari Peak rising the highest in the range. What contrast there was between the softly muted, distant elements of the land that seemed to stretch on forever and the more vivid foreground, desert hillside scattered with a potpourri of desert plants. Edging the trail, low, rich, blue-purple, desert bluebells along with tough, yellow-blooming brittlebush added that “eye-candy” that makes spring walks or hikes in the desert so extraordinary. A painting waiting to happen, and what a challenge in value and temperature to capture that quiet afternoon full of hushed atmosphere. For Sale. $3700. Available at Settlers West Gallery Summer Show, May 6-31, 6420 N. Campbell Ave. Tucson, AZ 85718, 520-299-2607 www.settlerswest.com www.darciepeet.com

Our multi-faceted adventure in Alaska began with a small boat cruise around Prince William Sound over 2 days. With only 30 passengers plus crew and a naturalist onboard and each passenger given binoculars, we were constantly learning about the rugged sea, coastline environment, glaciers and wildlife surrounding us. This chilly, early morning, fog and clouds were shifting and swirling, blurring the nearby shoreline. Through the mist and haze we could still make out groups of gulls swooping and darting above the sea scattered with icefloes, while one lone seagull hunkered down on a close-by icefloe we imagined was obviously “getting cold feet.” A moody May in Alaska that had to be painted. For Sale. $3000. Available at Settlers West Gallery Summer Show, May 6-31, 420 N. Campbell Ave. Tucson, AZ 85718, 520-299-2607 www.settlerswest.com www.darciepeet.com

While visiting friends near Seeley Lake, Montana, we often walked a country, dirt road not too far from their cabin. This tattered barn sat so very visibly “center stage” at the edge of the road, punctuating a small pasture. This late, fall afternoon there was a dusting of snow on the distant Swan Range, and the angles of the shadows, fenceline and irrigation ditch all seemed to point and call attention to this once active part of the ranch. A few, late blooming, lavender asters garnish the setting like a decorative picture frame. For sale $3400. Available at A. Banks Gallery, 131 E. Main St., Missoula, MT 59802, 406-728-9348, www.abanksgallery.com/darcie-peet/ www.darciepeet.com

Grays and Torreys Peaks, two of Colorado’s most popular “fourteeners,” rise across Lake Dillon in the soft, pastel colors of early morning. Summer wildflowers are at their peak in July as the shoreline is strewn with a myriad of colorful blooms, especially magenta Fireweed and the fuzzy, round blooms of tall thistle. For sale. $5200. Available at The Broadmoor Galleries, 1 Lake Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80906. 719-577-5744, www.broadmoorgalleries.com/darcie-peet/ www.darciepeet.com

Between Ridgway and Telluride, Colorado, Mt. Sneffels along the “Dallas Divide” is heavily dusted with September snow while autumn-gold aspen still accent lower foothills. A turbulent, dusk sky picking up end-of-the-day color foretells of another approaching storm. For sale. $5200. Available at The Broadmoor Galleries, 1 Lake Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80906. 719-577-5744, www.broadmoorgalleries.com/darcie-peet/ www.darciepeet.com