Bleeding Hearts and Cactus

This post continues to present my southwest cactus series. This painting, like my previous post of Chimayo Cactus contrasts delicate blossoms this time the flowers of the bleeding heart flowering vine against the sharp prickles of the barrel cactus. The blue- green teals are very cool which is contradictory to the typical extreme warm tones associated with the desert and a barrel cactus. With this painting I wanted to make the viewer feel as if they were peering into a forest of barrel cactus. Thanks for viewing my blog.

Chimayo Cactus

The big skies of New Mexico provide incredible light and clarity to the landscape. Capturing the intense colors of this cactus proved to be a challenge, red is always so difficult to convey. I like to think this painting communicates to the viewer the stark contrast between the delicate beauty of the flower against the sharp thorny needles protruding in every direction. The cactus never ceases to captivate me. Thanks for viewing my blog.

Waterlily

I found the photograph I took of the pink waterlily especially intriguing because the reflective shadows were so enticing. So actually this painting is focusing more on reflections and then the waterlily.  The decaying leaf position is designed to pull the eye of the viewer into the painting, then follows around to the pink lily and finally the reflection. Tricks in composition . . . it's all about controlling the eye!
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