April's Cacti Garden

This artwork was a commissioned piece and is titled April�s Cacti Garden. The background represents the sunrise colors over the Arizona Sonoran... more

by Marcia Weller-Wenbert

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

60.000 x 36.000 x 2.000 inches

Title

April's Cacti Garden

Artist

Marcia Weller-Wenbert

Medium

Painting - Acrylics On Canvas

Description

This artwork was a commissioned piece and is titled April�s Cacti Garden. The background represents the sunrise colors over the Arizona Sonoran Desert mountains; their vibrant and bold colors. The clients requested specific colors to include a turquois; however, it is not unheard of to see this in the Arizona skies. This cacti garden includes three Saguaro�s, a Barrel cacti, one Ocotillo, a lavenderish Prickly Pear, and a Totem Pole cacti.. . . . . . . . .Some varieties of Saguaro can live up to 150 years and grow between 40 to 60 feet tall. The largest known variety of the Saguaro is the Champion Saguaro, and it grows in Maricopa County of Arizona; this happens to be the home county of the artist. The Saguaro without arms is called a spear, and it takes approximately 75 years before an arm is fully grown. The purpose of the arm is reproductive, to produce the blooms and fruit. Saguaros are started from seed, they do not grow from cuttings. . . . . . . . . . . . .The Barrel Cactus can grow as wide as three feet and as tall as ten feet; however, typically they have a diameter of approximately two feet and a height of around three to six feet. While the barrel cactus painted in this artwork is not in bloom, they do bloom a beautiful yellow to red, orange flower on top of a fruit during the summer months. The fruit starts out green and turns yellow as the flower dries up. The fruit can stay on top of the cactus for quite awhile, even as long as a year. They tend to grow facing south at a slant and at a very slow pace. Their life cycle is anywhere from fifty to one hundred years. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . The graceful movement of the Ocotillo limbs and the vibrant reddish, orange bloom are beautiful in the Sonoran Deserts of Arizona. Marcia enjoys viewing these graceful plants throughout the year from her windows in her home. Whether they are in bloom or are only wearing their evergreen leaves, the twisting branches are interesting and intriguing to the eye. . . . . . . . . . . . . . While driving along the roads in Arizona, it is not uncommon to see large sections of Prickly Pears. The prickly pear cactus comes in many varieties, each of them interesting to view and study. The shapes and colors vary so. The blooms and fruit are beautiful to watch as they pass through their phases. Gorgeous plants even if they do have some prickly spines that you do not want to touch. . . . . . . . . . . . The Organ Pipe cactus grows mostly in Mexico; however, the U.S. National Monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve is located in extreme southern Arizona which shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. This species grows narrow vertical stems from a single short trunk that is just above ground level. These stems grow to be about 16 feet in height and approximately 6 inches in diameter. As the plants mature the bloom annually a white flower with a purple or pink tint, at night that closes in the morning. The Organ Pipe also has a fruit good size fruit that is said to taste like watermelon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When the artist moved from her home state of Oregon in 2008, she expected to miss the wonderful colors found in the vegetation, mountains, hills, and the floors of the Willamette valley that were her stomping grounds for many years. She was pleasantly surprised to fall in love with the colors found in the Sonoran Desert. Right in her own backyard and neighborhood, everywhere she visits throughout the day, she is greeted with the colors found in her new desert world.

Uploaded

February 3rd, 2013