Tall Agave Abstract Color is a photograph by Douglas Taylor which was uploaded on May 7th, 2023.
Tall Agave Abstract Color
Spring is typically the season of renewal, and so it is for the Agave ocahui, but in a very different way. For the agave here, spring is also the... more
Title
Tall Agave Abstract Color
Artist
Douglas Taylor
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Digital Photography
Description
Spring is typically the season of renewal, and so it is for the Agave ocahui, but in a very different way. For the agave here, spring is also the end. An Agave only flowers once, and that is at the end of the plant's life cycle.
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As the agave matures, it begins to grow a "heart" of tissue high in sugar content. If harvested just before the plant begins to bloom, this sugary mass can be roasted to convert the resulting pulp into an edible, sweet food that was once a valued part of the diet for native peoples of the American Southwest and Mexico. A specific species of agave is now well known for having the sugary pulp fermented to produce Tequila.
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Allowed to complete its life cycle, the agave uses the enormous energy stored in the tissues of its base to produce a large stalk during the spring months, ranging between 5 and 20 feet in height, and looking for all the world like a gigantic asparagus spear which grows with astonishing speed. As the stalk develops, it begins to flower, thereby completing its life cycle as the flowers are pollinated and then form seeds. Even as it is flowering at the peak of springtime, the plant itself begins to die. And like the process that produces the brilliant colors of some deciduous trees in autumn, the Agave ocahui's leaves begin to loose their chlorophyll and may turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. Thus, this brightly colored abstract image of the flowering Agave ocahui that I have entitled "Tall Agave Abstract Color". This species is native only to rocky hillsides of northeastern Sonora, Mexico, and the specimen was photographed at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum near Tucson, Arizona.
Upon seeing the spectacular coloration of this plant, I had the thought to look for any flowering agave to capture more color. Unfortunately, Agave ocahui is the only one known to show this dramatic color at the end of its life.
This bright botanical portrait is formatted in the tall, 1:2 ratio for where a striking and colorful creation is desired to suit a demanding interior design requirement. It is available in heights of up to 8 feet tall with striking color and stunning clarity. It will also make for a very challenging jigsaw puzzle.
Uploaded
May 7th, 2023
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Comments (4)
Barbie Corbett-Newmin
Congratulations; your lovely image is featured on the Best For Blankets and Textile Products Photography & Art page! Please make it available for future buyers to consider by posting your feature in the Featured Images Archive 2023 discussion thread. Please also post in any appropriate discussion threads-- ie sales of your group images etc. It would also be nice if you tweet the group when featured. Thank you!
Jenny Revitz Soper
BRAVO! Your artwork has earned a FEATURE on the homepage of The Artists Group, 5/09/2023! You may also post it in the Group's Features discussion thread and any other thread that fits!
Douglas Taylor replied:
Jenny! Thank you for the recognition and honor with this feature in this awesome art group.
Nancy Carol Photography
CONGRATULATIONS! .... and thank you for sharing with us your wonderful work of art that has been proudly presented on the Home Page of the group, 'BEST OF BOTANICAL BEAUTY'. If you wish, you may archive it permanently or promote it further in the Discussions Tabs titled, "April-May 2023 Features."
Douglas Taylor replied:
Thank you so much, Nancy! I am honored by your selection to be featured in this superb art group.
VIVA Anderson
Congratulations, Douglas! Kudos. Ths is an exquisite capture visually, And, you make the most of its gigantic 20' height. I love your understanding of its natural life, and this celebrates their glory to Autumn, so brilliant !! How amazing that it resides near you, and your celebrated eye at all its stages of timely colors, seasonally. I alway say thank you, Douglas, b/c, otherwise, I'd be deprived of this glory!!!, FAV.KUDOS,VIVA :)