Cereus Peruvianus

Cereus Peruvianus

chalk pastel on paper

9 x 12 in.

2022

About a year ago in the spring, I took some photos of nearby plants while waiting for my next class. I didn’t really have a reason to, but the vivid and vibrant colors that those plants had in contrast to the dusty browns and tans of the desert landscape around it really caught my eye. Going and looking through my photos many months later, I was inspired to try and convey the beauty of this cactus in particular using my chalk pastels on toned paper.

I have really come to enjoy using chalk pastels, and I would say that it has become my main medium when creating artwork using color. The ability to shade and layer so easily smoothly while still being able to add the detail I want and have the vibrant colors shine through makes it such a fun material to work with.

With this image in particular, the greens and the blues that came from this desert plant was so beautiful and kind of unexpected when thinking of other varieties of desert plants, that it was something I really wanted to try and showcase as much as possible.

With the techniques I learned from doing the previous commission in chalk pastel on a smaller sized paper, I was able to fit in nice details when it came to areas like the thorns and the side shadows that came from the cacti arms, but was still able to be expressive when it came to the line work I was using to depict those details, which translated really well I think in the end product.

With the success of how this project turned out, it has got me thinking of ways to continue on in creating similar pieces depicting various other cacti in similar styles on this toned paper with the possibility of maybe selling them in the future. Hopefully more similar works like this to come in the near future!