The Last Farm

The Last Farm

9 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

When I was growing up in the Antelope Valley, the west side of the valley was filled with vast alfalfa farms. There was plentiful water from the artesian wells under the valley. In the few visits I have made back over the years, I have observed the decline of these farms. This last visit revealed only a couple of large green fields. I did see a very large herd of sheep along the road. I took this reference shot looking south from the south loop trail of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. It may not be the last farm in the valley, but it is certainly one of the last.

Once again, I used the oranges from my Terry Ludwig and Great American soft pastels. I am really enjoying using these colors which have gone largely unused until I started this series. The paper I used for this painting and the Lupine painting was aubergine, a very nice complement to the oranges.