For the third consecutive year, the Tehachapi Arts Commission will kick off their nationally recognized art show in mid-May when 49 artists from across the country will visit and explore Tehachapi to begin paintings that will be completed at their studio and then juried into the Art 2023 Tehachapi show. The show will be held at the Aspen Builders Community Center on the weekend of July 21-23. Many of the artists will be returning for the third time; however, every year the May paint-out includes new artists who are intrigued by the area as an exciting new place to paint. Arizona artist Naomi Brown will be one of them this year.

Best known for her southwest landscapes and western scenes, Naomi is a self-taught artist who was born in Palm Springs, California and raised in Twentynine Palms with Joshua Tree National Park almost in her back yard.

"I remember packing my red wagon with some blankets and a picnic lunch my mother lovingly made for myself and my younger sisters," said Naomi, "and we would head out into the wide-open desert to find the perfect creosote bush to build a fort and have our picnic under a big blue desert sky."

She says these treks helped her learned the difference between the colors of a winter and a summer sky. Her paintings illustrate how she loves to capture the changing light and colors of the desert. Naomi and her family currently live in Queen Creek, Arizona.

Naomi has been creating her art for over 20 years. She uses a remarkable technique of painting. She uses acrylic for her gradient skies and then adds clouds and the foreground in oil. She feels this technique gives color depth and vibrancy to her paintings. She works on both museum board and canvas and her paintings range in size from a small 5x7 to a very large 48x72.

Naomi's work has toured the United States and can be found in private collections. She has been invited to participate in many nationally recognized competitions such as Paint the Parks and Paint America, for which she had 11 works chosen. She is an Associate with Distinction member of American Women Artists and an Out-of-State member of the California Art Club. She has been featured in Southwest Art, Western Art Collector and American Art Collector magazines. She was invited to participate in the AWA Steamboat Art Museum show and the Mountain Oyster Club show in Tucson. She exhibited in the 2020 and 2021 LA Art Shows and the 2021-23 Cowgirl Up Show in Wickenburg, Arizona. Naomi was invited to show her work at "The Art of Our Photography," the first art show to be sponsored by Arizona Highways Magazine at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as the 2023 CM Russell Mini March Roundup at the Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. She is currently represented by the Signature Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Tehachapi Arts Commission invites everyone to be part of the opening event of Art 2023 Tehachapi on July 21 at 5 p.m. at Aspen Builders Community Center located at 410 W. D Street in Tehachapi. At this private event, attendees will be able to stroll the aisles, meet Naomi and the other artists and perhaps purchase a painting while sampling hors d'oeuvres, drinks from open bars and award-winning wines from Dorner Family Vineyard. During the evening, awards will be given for the Best of Show, Best Landscape, Best Urban Painting and Best Still Life. Returning this year will be Charles Muench, winner of last year's Best of Show painting "Bear Mountain Overlook."

Advance tickets only for this special event on July 21 are $125 and are available at http://www.eventbrite.com. Save the date, purchase your ticket and be ready for an evening of art appreciation while visiting with the artists.