I came across a photo of an Arizona sunset. I gazed at the photo for the longest time since it seemed different to me.  I was drawn to the cactus in the photo. The cactus seemed to be standing guard over the desert against encroachment by the masses, by progress. As a former Arizonan, I found the photo quite sad because of what it symbolized to me. I decided to paint it. The painting is my rendition of that photo.