Abstract painter Lynda Keeler draws inspiration from desert neighborhood impressions: midcentury architecture, manicured gardens, glimpses of backyards and pools, the curves of cul-de-sacs. She walks her dog, Keely, through the elevated neighborhood of Little Tuscany in Palm Springs, which provides aerial views of her subject. “We have this beautiful view of the whole Coachella Valley,” she says. “All the way down to Indian Wells and beyond when it’s a clear day.”
Flashes of forms from her walks — circles (the sun, grapefruits, pools) and arrows (navigational, painted on roads) — show up often in her paintings, on canvas and, in her latest series, ceramic vases. Other motifs like a hand or foot bring a human touch. “We’re bombarded with images on a screen, and God only knows what AI is going to do to image-making,” Keeler says. “There’s something about the hand that feels like the artist has been there.”
Splitting her time between Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley, Keeler cites the stretch of road beside the wind turbines coming into Palm Springs as the threshold that sets her creative rhythm. “In L.A., just going out in the world is stressful. There’s a lot of people; there’s just intensity,” she says. Many of Keeler’s collectors also travel back and forth between Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley and enjoy having her desert scenes in their homes or businesses. “We’re connected by the 10 freeway,” she says. “There’s a strong connection, yet there’s a very different vibe between the two cities.”
Keeler’s love of art and the desert led her to co-found Desert Open Studios, a weekendlong event connecting the public with 160 artists across the Coachella Valley. The fête returns Jan. 23–25, featuring ceramicists, painters, sculptors, collagists, and jewelers. “There are artists who had great careers and big representation, who maybe moved here to slow down, that are still producing amazing work,” Keeler says. “I always tell people that the best way to see what’s going on is to go to Desert Open Studios,” or visit desertopenstudios.com to view the artists’ work.
In Palm Springs, Janssen Artspace and the Ace Hotel & Swim Club’s Amigo Room bar have Keeler’s paintings on display. Visit lyndakeeler.com to see even more of her work and exhibitions.
Desert Inspirations
Keeler shares a few of her favorite places to visit in Palm Springs.
Moorten Botanical Garden: “This wonderful holdout from yesteryear is just weird in the best way possible because of the plant material.”
Palm Springs Art Museum: “I call [the art on the second and third floors] my friends. They always have rotating exhibits downstairs. I go often to say ‘hi’ to the artwork that I’ve been visiting for years. I’m excited about the new director and the direction that she’s having the museum go.”
Tahquitz Falls hike: “It’s right in town, and it’s a wonderful hike that has a lot of historical significance for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.”
Spellbound Sky: “My newest discovery. … They have crystals and objects and all sorts of oddities, which kind of boggles the mind. They’re just exactly what Palm Springs needs, which is a dose of magical realism enthusiasm.”
