Tucked away in the high desert of Sierra Vista, Arizona, outsider artist David Roxbury is quietly weaving a universe of vivid mythologies, spiritual riddles, and esoteric symbology. Born without his retinas fully developed, the artist wears darkened glasses that can be spotted from miles away. Working well outside the confines of academic art traditions, Roxbury creates paintings that don’t ask to be understood so much as experienced—like visions glimpsed in a dream.

Roxbury’s work is currently on display and available through Gallery 590 at We Frame It!, where a small but mighty selection of his originals invites viewers into his strikingly imagined inner world.

Take, for example, “Desert Sirens and Sunlit Serpents.” The title alone conjures something mythical, even Biblical—but this is no Sunday school morality tale. In Roxbury’s desert, temptation doesn’t slither on its belly so much as shimmer. There’s a sense of reverence for the natural world, even in its ugliest forms. Sunlight becomes a sort of spiritual force—burning, revealing, transfiguring. The sirens, often relegated to the sea in classical myth, have migrated to the arid borderlands, blending seduction with survival.

Another standout work, “Things To Abundant and Things To Scarce (Time, Wonder, Innocence, Death, and Joy),” feels like an inventory of the soul. It’s a meditation on modern scarcity—how the things we truly long for aren’t material. Roxbury lays these concepts out like offerings on an altar: you get the sense that the artist is keeping track of what we’ve lost and what we might still have time to reclaim. The painting doesn’t resolve neatly, and that’s the point—it’s an emotional ledger that changes depending on who’s viewing it.

Then there’s “Heavenly Dominion,” one of the more structured compositions in his collection. With its symmetrically layered forms and surreal iconography, it evokes medieval religious art as interpreted through a psychedelic lens. The word “dominion” in the title implies power, yet the tone is not oppressive but transcendent. There’s a balance between cosmic order and ungovernable imagination—a reminder that Roxbury’s work often sits right at the edge of the sacred and the absurd.

What links all these pieces is a deeply intuitive use of symbolism. Roxbury isn’t concerned with formal technique or art-world trends. His color palette is unafraid—sometimes violent, sometimes ecstatic. Figures often blend into their environments, dissolving into meaning instead of form. His titles are almost poetic fragments, hints at the narrative beneath the brushwork.

Like many outsider artists, Roxbury doesn’t seem interested in art for commerce or career. His work isn’t trying to “fit in” with contemporary galleries or trends. Instead, it feels necessary—compelled into being by something internal. His art could be classified as visionary, but it also feels anchored in the realities of place. This is unmistakably desert work: sun-bleached, myth-soaked, and tinged with a kind of joyful apocalypticism. Unfortunately, due to eyesight complications, David is unable to paint anymore.

Whether you’re an art collector, a seeker of the unusual, or someone who simply appreciates work that refuses to play by the rules, David Roxbury’s paintings offer a portal. They don’t try to explain—they reveal. And sometimes, that’s far more powerful. Want to see Roxbury’s work up close? Visit Gallery 590 – We Frame It! in Sierra Vista, Arizona.