Desert Waters | Melody Sears

• Midday Streamside

  Pastel, 16 x 12. A melding inspired by several images from Catalina State Park in Tucson photographed along the walking trail after rain, as well as several images from Sabino Canyon after rain.

• Reverence

  Pastel, 12 x 16. Painted en plein air, this is a portion of the creek running through Hillsboro, NM, near my previous home. Submitted to Tucson Pastel Society for the show Chromatic Conversations, June 2026.

• Rio Greens

  Pastel, 9 x 12. Rio Greens is a portion of the Ruidoso River painted on site outside of the town of Ruidoso, NM.

• Fluid Trees

  Pastel, Uart, 9 x 12. While out looking for new painting subjects I found some trees mirrored in a wash. It was an intriguing image, made more so due to the upside down reflection of the trees in water that was moving s…

• Accidental Island

  Pastel

• Monsoon Flood in Alamo Wash

  Pastel, Uart, 12 x 9. Alamo Wash is a tributary to the Rillito River in Tucson, AZ, whose waters travel many miles from the south. During heavy monsoon rains, the wash is full and often floods, which is when I grabbed s…

• Rocks and Riffles

  Pastel, Wallis warm grey, 16 x 12. A creek view based on an old photo I took at beautiful Sabino Canyon in Tucson, Arizona, Rocks and Riffles is a 16x12 pastel priced at $750 (framed), with free shipping within the Cont…

• Whitewater Poem

  Pastel, 16 x 12. The view I painted in this pastel is from Tucson's magnificent Sabino Canyon. It began as an exploration of the water, with its myriad subtle tones of warm and cool grays, then expanded to include the m…

• Blue Mirror at Sabino Canyon

  Pastel, 12 x 16. The sky and cloud reflection along a muddy stretch of Sabino Canyon was a brilliant blue crying out to be painted. Please Note: The price of $700 is for a framed painting, and includes free shipping wit…

• After Rain

  Pastel, 12 x 16. The smell of wet desert, along with the delight of watching rainwater as it finds its way along the desert floor until it finally sinks into the dry earth, usually compels me to venture out and experien…

• Surge (framed)

  Pastel, 8.5 x 12. Reworked from an earlier painting, Surge has finally captured what I felt when I first painted this subject. The colors that day were strong and exciting, the movement of water pulsing, foaming, SURGIN…

• Canyon Creek (framed)

  Pastel, 24 x 20. NOTE: This painting is currently framed, at a price of $1450. If unframed the price is $1160. A rugged desert canyon filled with spring runoff from winter snowstorms is a joy to behold. This, from Sabin…

• Creekdeep Geology

  Pastel, 20 x 16. Sabino Creek, emerging from the mountains on the north side of Tucson, has sections of fascinating geology that are submerged and/or thrusting up from the creek bed. This painting was inspired by views…

• Reverie

  Pastel, Uart, 9 x 12. Based on a photo I had taken of this hawk during the Raptor Flight demonstration at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum west of Tucson, I created a creek scene to mirror the mood of its stance. This p…

• Cloudy Day Creek

  Pastel, Wallis warm grey, 9 x 12. A quiet, moody day inspired this painting of a creek near home. Unframed price is $370, with free shipping within the Continental U.S.

• Canyon Creek Quiet

  Pastel, 9 x 12. "Canyon Creek Quiet" is my emotional response in pastel to an area of southwest New Mexico that is dear to my heart. It is based on a section of Percha Creek downstream from the tiny settlement of Kingst…

• Grass Dam (Framed)

  Pastel, 12 x 18. Being a long-time desert rat, I LOVE to paint water and this was especially fun. My favorite part of this painting is the faint shadow falling across the rock, but the white foam trail caused by the tin…

• Pondside Morning

  Pastel, 9 x 12. PLEASE NOTE: Currently framed, the price is $400; Unframed price is $300. This 9x12 pastel was re-worked from a very loose dark-value rock study painted several years ago along a dry stretch of a New Mex…

• Beyond the Bridge

  Pastel, Sennelier La Carte gray, 7.5 x 8.5. "Beyond the Bridge" is an area near my home I was exploring several weeks ago. I was particularly attracted to the sinuous meander of the water in this wash, which is normally…

• Gila Forest Pond (Custom Framed)

  Pastel, 21 x 27. My husband, our dog and I were walking in the Gila Forest one morning when we came across a small spring-fed pond. It was very shallow and the carpet of underwater plants (I'm an artist, not a botanist,…

• Hidden Pond (framed)

  Pastel, LaCarte, 12 x 16. This is a spring-fed, puddle-sized pond in the Gila National Forest of New Mexico that I've painted twice, but in different light. On this occasion it was early morning and the sunlight filteri…

• The First Flood Wave

  Pastel, 9 x 12. I was in the right place at the right time to witness the arrival of the first small wave of runoff water after a monsoon rain many miles distant. Within minutes the entire wash was filled. This is the s…