Rebecca Courtney "Thunderstorm", 2008 — Oil on Canvas

Titled “Thunderstorm”, this original 2008 oil on canvas by Rebecca Courtney captures the expansive drama of a high-desert storm sweeping across southern New Mexico. The composition features streaks of rain descending from dark, textured clouds over a glowing desert plain. At the horizon, a jagged mountain silhouette rises — likely the western face of the Organ Mountains, viewed from the White Sands side — rendered in soft dusk tones.

Sunset light casts warm hues across the foreground, evoking the ethereal glow of gypsum sands just before nightfall. The painting is signed “R. Courtney®” lower right and dated verso ’08, with the title Thunderstorm handwritten on the stretcher bar. Framed in a classic wood molding (no glass), the piece blends Courtney’s expressive brushwork with the evocative atmosphere of a fleeting moment in the Southwest.

A powerful example of regional abstraction, this work resonates with collectors drawn to both New Mexico’s natural beauty and its ever-changing skies.

Condition:

Good condition overall. Canvas is taut and surface is free from damage. The frame shows some light cosmetic wear, consistent with age, but remains sturdy and attractive.

Dimensions:

• Overall (framed): 29 1/2" x 53"

• Visible (canvas): 24" x 47 1/2"

Medium: Oil on Stretched Canvas
Title: Thunderstorm
Artist: Rebecca Courtney
Signed: Lower right and verso, dated 2008
Frame: Wood, no glass

Artist Biography: Rebecca Courtney

Rebecca Courtney is a New Mexico-based artist whose work explores the expressive beauty of skies, horizons, and the elemental forces of nature. Based in Las Cruces, her artistic vision is deeply rooted in the Southwestern landscape — particularly the Organ Mountains, the White Sands region, and the expansive desert skies that shift dramatically with light and weather.

Working primarily in oil and acrylic on canvas, Courtney’s paintings range from serene seascapes and moody horizons to abstracted renderings of monsoon storms, desert light, and high-elevation vistas. Her brushwork often features impasto layering and a keen sensitivity to atmospheric tone, capturing the emotional weight of fleeting natural phenomena.

Courtney began painting full-time after a career in education and public service. Her creative practice evolved in tandem with her involvement in the Las Cruces art scene, where she has served on the City Art Board, supported public art initiatives, and contributed works to charitable and cultural institutions such as the Black Box Theatre and the League of Women Voters.

Her paintings have been exhibited throughout southern New Mexico and are held in numerous private collections. With each piece, Courtney offers a personal interpretation of the region’s drama and quietude — where storm clouds gather over gypsum flats, or color floods the sky as the sun sets behind distant ridgelines.

Rebecca Courtney’s art is an homage to place — not only to the physical terrain of the Southwest, but to its moods, weather, and the timeless rhythm of sky and earth in motion.