1. The Sunset Palomino Ranch series has a very specific retro quality, as the setting is inspired by Desert Modernism. What inspired you to draw heavily upon these aesthetics and ideas?
I grew up in an Eichler house. They were horrible plywood shacks. I guess your formative years are ingrained in you, and now I’m in love with mid-century architecture....
I grew up in an Eichler house. They were horrible plywood shacks. I guess your formative years are ingrained in you, and now I’m in love with mid-century architecture....
2. Expanding a bit more on the retro aesthetic and pop culture emphasis—how much research went into this series? Did any information about the time period come as a surprise?
The background research was so fun it was effortless. I imagined myself hanging out in Elvis’s honeymoon hideaway cave or golfing with Sinatra. One big surprise was to find out that the Sunnylands estate on which I based the Stinson’s Shining Lands Ranch was known as “Camp David West.” Nixon was staying there when Ford pardoned him.