newsletter | bettina fine art

the brush stroke spring 2026

High Noon Harvest

This painting is the second in a border wall series I am working on. The plight of the working immigrants is depicted through four times of the day - dawn, noon, dusk and midnight, when the sun. I spent two days at the border wall in Naco, Arizona to photograph it during these times of day. This one is noon, when the sun is the highest and working conditions outside can be brutal. One group of workers that deal with the relenting sun and heat are agricultural workers. They are out early in the morning to the late day working in all kinds of conditions - planting, weeding and harvesting. Most farm use immigrant labor. Many owners of small farms depend these people as managers as well as laborers. They do the work better and more efficiently than Americans workers as stated by farm owners. Large industrial farms use immigrant labor to keep costs down. We depend on immigrant labor to put food on our tables.

The wall is a constant reminder that they are not welcome and they are the enemy. The wall also represents deportation, which is a daily threat no matter how long they have been here or how much they have contributed to the community and society at large. They can be sent to the other side at any moment. A portion of our society chooses not to recognize these people. They are less than, so they have no faces, no humanity. Yet they do the jobs we would not want to do or are physically incapable of doing. The wall takes up most of the painting and weighs down on these people below struggling to make a living.

These people are not criminals or recent border crossers. Many were brought here as children as well as others who have been here for decades. Working and not gaining benefits. These people are our neighbors and instead of demonizing them we should be showing gratitude.

The price of the painting reflects the two week pay for a farm worker in Arizona working 40 hours a week without overtime and this equals $1021.00

Border wall at Border Patrol access road east of Naco Arizona September 14, 2025, 12:26pm

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