DESERT’S BLUSH

The first time I saw the desert at sunset, I didn’t know it would stay with me forever. Until that moment, the desert had only been something I’d read about in books or seen in movies - a place that felt distant, almost imagined.

The sand still held the weight of the midsummer sun from the day, so hot it burned through the soles of my feet, forcing me to pull on socks just to take each step. The climb up the dune felt endless - a slow, heavy journey where the heat pressed down and the grains slipped away beneath me. My cheeks were flushed and blushing from the effort, mirroring the colors I had yet to see in the sky. But something inside urged me forward, whispering that the view would be worth it.

When I finally reached the top, I stood in silence, my chest rising with the effort of the climb, and then it happened - the sky began to change. The fierce brightness of the day melted into the softest colors I had ever seen. Hues of rose, gold, and a gentle blush spread across the horizon, as if the desert itself had taken a deep breath and exhaled beauty. It was fragile, fleeting, and yet so powerful that it seemed to stop time.

In that moment, I felt small against the vastness, but also completely present - more alive than I had ever been. The burning sand beneath me, the silence around me, the sky painted in colors I didn’t know existed - together they created a memory carved into my soul.

“Desert’s Blush” is not just a painting of a sunset. It is the story of that moment of awe, the moment the desert revealed both its harshness and its tenderness. It is about the beauty that waits beyond endurance, and the quiet gifts the desert offers to those who dare to climb, to withstand, and to truly see.

MEDIUM: 24K Gold and acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 80 x 120 cm

YEAR: 2024