Prickly Plantings – Original Watercolor Painting

Prickly Plantings is an original watercolor painting by Ellen Jean Diederich featuring a varied selection of Turk’s Cap cacti.

Behind the piece: These cacti were in a greenhouse at The Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert, California. This impressive zoo works its exhibits into the mountains.  The giraffes were particularly interesting to me, as there was a deep ditch that circled around near a raised stage for viewers.  You can see the giraffe walking behind the ditch like a line in a painting, with only their necks showing above it, and the whole giraffe in front. The giraffe might not like these Turk’s Cap cactus, also known as Mother-In-Law’s Pincushion or Barrel Cactus.

This artwork is framed with a suggested frame, making it 30″ by 30,” but it can also be unframed, or the frame can be changed!