As an artist, Donna Miller-Haggerty of Palm Desert strives to create works that stems from her heart as well as her environment. “My most recent paintings were made to inspire positive thoughts and hope during these uncertain and difficult times,” she says of pieces like Inside Looking Out, a watercolor and collage that illustrates the complexity of feelings during isolation.

The painting earned Miller-Haggerty a $500 grant to from the nonprofit California Desert Arts Council (CDAC) to “Keep Art Alive.”

CDAC and La Quinta Arts Foundation established a $50,000 Keep Art Alive fund to award grants to Coachella Valley artists and arts organizations who create thoughtful, inspiring, and relevant works responding to the pandemic.

Miller-Haggerty, a member of the Artists Council and Coachella Valley Watercolor Society, painted Inside Looking Out using complementary colors — a variety of cool blue and violet against warm yellow and orange — to symbolize diversity and coexistence. “I also applied textures with the paints to represent the uncertainty and confusion we all face during these times,” she explains.

Visit Donna Miller-Haggerty online at artistgallerydonna.com.