After forty years, Wood returns to the Maturango Museum with a new solo exhibition celebrating his beloved muse and companion, DAX a half black Labrador retriever and bloodhound known for his soulful singing and playful personality. What began as a few playful posts on Instagram quickly evolved into an international sensation, as DAX’s charm and voice captured hearts around the world.

In this vibrant series, Wood shares his portraits of models and actresses from across the globe who have posed with DAX by special request. Each painting captures not only their beauty but also the joyful connection between people, art, and animals. Between modeling sessions, DAX is often featured in paintings sporting his signature “Singing DAX” hat a symbol of fun, positivity, and creativity.

Through his work, Wood reminds us that art can bring people together, transcending language and culture. With over 750 followers and growing, Singing DAX continues to inspire smiles, laughter, and meaningful connections worldwide.

Please enjoy this heartfelt collection, and keep up with DAX’s latest adventures and songs on Instagram: @singingdax

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

Step into the creative world of local artists as they open their studios to the community. Guests can explore a wide variety of artwork, from woodwork, painting, ceramics, and watercolors to other unique media.

Alongside the tour, the Maturango Museum features an exhibit showcasing a sample of each of local artist’s work, offering a preview of the creativity to discover.

Maps for the studio tour are available free of charge at the Maturango Museum (open 10 am – 5 pm, Monday–Saturday; noon – 4 pm on Sundays)

“The landscapes here have always been a source of inspiration for me, my work reflects a deep connection to place and history.” – Warner

Warner Graves is an artist known for his contemporary take   on the rugged beauty of the California desert. Using bold color, broad brush strokes, line and texture and reacting to intuitive impulses, the work unfolds as an exploration of the natural world and its lore. From a vintage stone cabin in Snow  Creek, (a small secluded village at the foot of Mt. San   Jacinto), Warner creates paintings of simplified and stylized forms to convey the monumentality and spiritual awe of the surrounding desert wilderness. The work is strongly rooted to the various locations in and around the arid regions of California and reflects interest ranging from historic travel posters, the natural sciences, hiking, and getting  lost in the desert. The playful use of color is a direct reference to the Canadian Group of Seven. Local early 20th century  artist Agnes Pelton and her associated Taos School of Transcendental Art continues to be a source of  inspiration. With the current series Warner hopes the viewer finds the beauty in the depiction of the desert  environment but is also challenged to see the natural world not as a static form but as a living entity,  imbued with vitality and flux. 

 This fantastic exhibit will be in the Coso Room through August 24. 

A great article about Warner written in 2018. https://www.californiadesertart.com/the-golden-age-of-warner graves-back-to-the-canyons/

His website is warnergraves.net

Jacques spent 35 years in Tihiti as a sound engineer and has worked in the musical world almost all of his life. When he arrived in Ridgecrest in 2015 he started to work with wood. Jacques found that “wood is amazing, the touch the scent”… and then a few years later he tried acrylic painting and loved it. He then began to work with resin, by itself or with wood. With any medium, he likes to experiment, “sometimes the result is surprising.”