Original $450 33.5cm W x 33.5cms H x 4cms D Acrylic, palette, knife, on canvas board, professionally box framed in Australian raw oak. Prickly Pear was painted whilst visiting my daughter at the end of summer 2022, in Melbourne. After witnessing them in vibrant bloom on a road trip over my lifetime, throughout Australia, they stood out in my minds eye as paintings to come. I had fun creating the many shadows of the prickly paddles in deep Phthalo greens and purples. These deeps allowed the colourful blossoms float as they do in nature from amongst the multitude of needle like prickles. The Prickly Pear in Australia has a reputation as a pest and has been brought under control since its rampant growth in the late 1900’s. Did you know the fruit they bear is enjoyed as a food and used medicinally in many parts of the world and increasingly here in Australia? A quirky piece of kitchen art, or is it kitsch art?