Sirocco

From the Trade Winds series, palms on paper. Each painting is titled after a real named wind. The palms are bent, blurred and interrupted by movement, so the true subject is the air rather than the tree: invisible forces made visible. Born in the Sahara and drawn north across the Mediterranean, the sirocco carries fine red dust with it. It arrives hot and heavy, dimming the sun and staining the sky — and sometimes the rain itself — a reddish orange. Sold framed (19¾ in square).