Red-Flower Prickly Pear
—"Less is More" Leads to Success Once Again!
Whenever I meet up with my local Art Peeps for plein air sketching at Tucson Botanical Gardens, I always find myself drawn 😉 to TBG’s Cactus & Succulent Garden, with a stop at TBG’s Butterfly Pavilion on the way. If you’ve been reading this blog/email newsletter for a while, it’s probably no surprise to you that these are my two favorite areas of TBG! 🌵🦋
On my latest visit to the Cactus & Succulent Garden I was attracted to a 6’ tall Prickly Pear covered with dozens of red-orange flowers, and appropriately named the Red-Flower Prickly Pear.
You may remember that recently I’ve embraced an approach of “Less is More” for my plein air sketching—working smaller not faster—with the goal of actually finishing (or almost finishing) my art on site. This time I completed my initial pencil sketch and then my pen illustration for my small (2.5”x5.25”) art in about an hour at TBG, and then finished it at home later that day by adding watercolor.
Here’s what I accomplished on site…
…and here’s my finished piece.
When I’m plein air sketching I always take my Teeny Tiny Watercolor Palette (with only six watercolors in it); I’ve used it often enough that I find myself drawn (there’s that word again!) to using those same six colors even when I’m at home using my larger watercolor palette (which has 18 colors including these six) because I know these six will enable me to make any color in the universe I want. 😃
A couple of weeks ago I recommended The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams; here’s another quote from that book:
“Be a reservoir of joy, an oasis of peace, a pool of serenity that can ripple out to all those around you.”
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
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Lovely composition.
So enjoyable seeing cactus blooms again. I liked seeing the Teeny, Tiny, Color Palette link again, especially seeing the colors you chose for the six base colors. It's fascinating to consider that every color imaginable can be created from those base colors.