Pitiado – An Embroidered Moment from Old Tucson’s Golden Era

Pitiado is one of my earliest and most experimental works, painted in the early 1990s while I was living in New Jersey. Though far from Sedona, my imagination was already tuned to the Southwest. Around that time, I took a workshop with Skip Lawrence, who taught me to treat watercolor not as something to control, but as something to discover. That lesson shaped this painting.

In this watercolor, I used frisket to save highlights, sprinkled kosher salt into wet washes to create crystalline blooms, pressed Saran Wrap onto damp pigment to map fractured textures, and even used a hairdryer to push paint across the paper. The result was a surface alive with energy and chance. Into this field, I placed a Kokopelli, the desert flute player, a figure who symbolized connection and creativity. For me, he became the bridge tying my experimental process to the spirit of the Southwest.

Collectors responded passionately to Pitiado. Many described it as alive, as if the textures themselves were breathing. The original has long found a home, but reproductions—canvas gallery wraps, luminous metal prints, and giclée prints—bring its layered textures into homes and studios worldwide. Although it doesn’t have the black light glow of my later fluorescent works, Pitiado shines in its own way. It radiates curiosity, playfulness, and process.

Within my broader body of work, Pitiado stands as an early foundation. It paved the way for bolder experiments like Tequila Sunrise and Morgan, which explored Southwest themes through new mediums and brighter palettes. As part of my “Top Nine” collection, it represents a beginning—a reminder that exploration is where art begins.

For me, this image is a record of discovery, a celebration of play, and a tribute to the enduring spirit of the Southwest.

Clark Sheppard’s work is also featured at the Village Gallery n Sedona, AZ.