In the mid to late 1920s, Theodore Lukits spent a considerable amount of time painting in the deserts of California. He worked primarily in the Mojave desert near Palm Springs, where his work was sold through Harriett Day's Desert Inn Gallery. Few of Lukits' deserts were painted under the high-key midday conditions favored by most of the plein-air painters. In contrast, because he found fewer topographical features in the desert, Lukits preferred to paint later in the day or early in the evening when the setting sun brought a more interesting palette to the arid landscape. Lukits also used the low horizon as an opportunity to focus on the dramatic skies brought on by winter storms.       TNL 154,   Pastel on Paper ,    11" x 15" "Dragon's Breath" (circa 1924, California Art Club)     TNL 151,   Pastel on Paper ,    11" x 15" "Throne of the Gods" (circa 1924, California Art Club)   TNL 558,   Pastel on Paper ,    11" x 15" "High Mountain Sunrise" (circa 1924, Lukits Art Trust) TNL 560,   Pastel on Paper ,    15" x 11" "Wispy Clouds, High Sierras " (1924, Lukits Art Trust) TNL 074,   Pastel on Paper ,    9" x 13" "Mountain Thermals" (circa 1924, California Art Club) TNL 076,   Pastel on Paper ,    9" x 13" "White Mantle" (circa 1924, Lukits Art Trust) TNL 079,   Pastel on Paper ,    9" x 13" "White Mantle" (circa 1924, Lukits Art Trust) TNL 702,   Pastel on Paper ,    9" x 13" "Sea of Clouds" (circa 1924, Private Collection)