I did this chalk pastel drawing in Death Valley while on a family road trip around the western states. At the time, we were settled into our campsite; the kids were happy in the pool, and I was free to do some pleinair art. I found just the right place to sketch, next to an old fire truck. Happily, the evening light cast some fine shadows. 

2019 was the year I started using chalk and toned paper to do my pleinair drawings. From the outset, I realized that I could combine my background skill in perspective and composition with depicting volume with white chalk. This shift happened slowly, but since the time of this writing – 6 years after this drawing – I now compose most of my pleinair work on either toned paper, as I use here, or pieces of wood that have a tonal quality close to that of paper.