Whitney Gardner is an oil painter and printmaker, native to Southern California. With a focus on painting landscapes about the Southwest, she seeks to expand the barriers of western art to the California deserts that she knows so well. Residing in the Mojave desert of 29 Palms for the last decade, a fascination with the rugged scenery has led her into an artful study of this region. From plein air to studio rendered compositions, her paintings are an ode to the remarkable facets of the desert. Whitney studied at California College of the Arts and attained a BFA in 2010, yet she considers herself a self-taught artist. Her work has been published in nationally circulated magazines, such as Western Art Collector and Southwest Art. In 2019, her painting, Ocotillo Sky, received the Best of Show award at the Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition. In 2021 her online exhibition, Calico, sold out with Western Gallery.