Georgia Watercolor Society

Cacti came about after becoming mesmerized by the blooms on a prickly pear cactus. The colors were so vivid, yet the flower was so delicate. The protection provided by the long spindly thorns to the cactus seemed reminiscent to the way a mother protects her child. They are protective enough to keep it from harm, yet far enough apart that it can still bloom and attract needed interaction to perpetuate life.

I chose a birdseye view of the plant in order to demonstrate what I wanted to fully show others in my painting. After seeing the photographed results I decided to repeat some of the shapes in a couple areas. Thinking of design components originates from my graphic design background. I first decided to make a border painting using contrasting colors within the border. In order to make my point of interest stand out, I decided to engage the image by having branches extend past the heart of the painting over the border and right out of the frame into the unknown.