The Indian Wells Arts Festival is elated to announce prominent  Los Angeles artist David Palmer as its 2017 Commemorative Poster Artist. Selected for his masterful ability to combine abstract expressionism with classical realism, Palmer’s original painting ‘Desert Dreaming’ is a 48” x 36” acrylic on canvas, busting with color in celebration of the natural and sometimes hidden beauty of the Coachella Valley desert.
 
Desert Dreaming
‘Desert Dreaming’ will be unveiled to the public by Mayor Richard Balocco at the upcoming Indian Wells City Council meeting, Thursday, February 16, as the festival’s title sponsor. Joining Mayor Balocco and other city officials for the unveiling, Palmer will be on hand to present his painting and available for questions and photographs. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. at Indian Wells City Hall, 44-950 Eldorado Drive in Indian Wells, Calif.
 
Palmer’s illustrious career as an artist began with an undergraduate degree in Art from the University of Florida and an MFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and led him to become an accomplished digital effects artist box office hits Air Force One, The Polar Express, Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone – more than a dozen feature films in all. Since then, his work on the canvas in oils and acrylics has garnered Palmer much critical acclaim and many savvy collectors.
 
“We were thrilled to have David create this year’s commemorative print,” says Indian Wells Arts Festival producer Dianne Funk. “I gasped when I first saw Desert Dreaming,” she adds about the original painting which will be available for sale at the Festival. “With its brilliant colors and exacting detail, it perfectly captures our beautiful desert and is sure to be one of our most sought-after prints.”
 
Combining the vocabulary of Pop Art with an Italian Renaissance sensibility, Palmer’s paintings are influenced by dreams and childhood memories, and a fascination with the physical world. Their surfaces reveal patches of underlying color, reminiscent of aging frescoes and peeling billboards – a reminder of the beauty in things changing over time.
 
‘Desert Dreaming’ was inspired by the abundance of plant and animal life in the California desert, and is a meditation on the extraordinary beauty available to us in quiet moments. “Until fairly recently, I hadn't spent much time in the desert,” Palmer explains. “As I get to know it; however, I'm discovering just how much life and beauty it contains: plants, animals, colors, sounds, smells. There's so much to experience in the desert, and wandering around in it feels a bit like being in a dream.”
 
AT A GLANCE
Indian Wells Commemorative Poster Art unveiling ceremony, 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16 at Indian Wells City Hall, 44-950 Eldorado Drive.
 
The 15th annual Indian Wells Arts Festival, held on the Tennis Garden’s Grass Concourse (Enter from Washington Street at Via Sevilla, between Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive, Indian Wells, California), opens Friday, March 31 through Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Gates close at 4:00). Children FREE, Adults $13. Free parking and valet available. For more information visit, www.IndianWellsArtsFestival.com.