Hailing from the high deserts of eastern Oregon and western Idaho, Shanae Lavelle’s art captures both the rich beauty and stark realities of rural life. Having spent most of her life observing people and places where youth seek progress and older generations fear change–she explores how environments and social conditions shape each other. Delving into themes of poverty, nature, technology, and mechanization and how this impacts individual value systems and how they can change in an instant when influenced. She explores these themes as an illustrator and watercolor plein air (in nature, on location) where people, animals, and the environment regularly bring a variety of unexpected experiences.