Prickly Parfait Cactus

22x15 acrylics on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper done last September, a fantasy cactus scene emphasizing the color pink and other pastel hues. A glorification of the dry arid desert flora. This painting SOLD last week during my Lincoln County Art Loop event in Alto, NM. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Prickly Pink Saguaro

15x11 watercolor on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done first week of June, another imaginary cactus in my series of desert plants. I added shapes and colors to the background to mimic other saguaros surrounding the main one. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Very Tall Cactus in Pot

9x2 watercolor on 117 lb cold press Canson paper done last month, another vertical miniature that can be framed or used as a bookmark. This one was inspired by the many other potted cactus plants I've painted. White gel pen was used to make spiky thorns. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

August Cactus

9x3 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done last month, a miniature imaginative cactus that could be framed or used as a bookmark. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Cactus Coloring

8x6 watercolor using limited palette of alizarin crimson, Moonglow, and aureolin paints on handmade rough cold press paper. I painted this imaginary desert cactus scene around first week or so of September, another in my series. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Cactus Time

6x2 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done last month, an imaginary composition in miniature that could be used either for artwork on the wall or as a special bookmark. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Cactus Floral Shapes

9x6 mixed media using mostly acrylic and colored pencil over an older watermedia made with stencils done in 2021. This redo or rework is fun after drawing cactus shapes in colored pencil over the original. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025 Original Floral Shapes is below for comparison.

Colorful Cactus Blooms

6x6 watercolor limited palette plus 0.3 fineliner Winsor Newton sepia ink pen and white gel pen. This imaginary desert flowering plant was done last month in my Master's Touch sketchbook, 80 lb paper. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Sunday Prickly Pears

12x9 watercolor using a limited palette of Payne's Gray, Perylene Maroon, and Quinacridone Gold on Canson 120 lb for mixed media paper. With this palette, I'm still exploring color combinations on the imaginary landscape cactus. This one was done in July. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Monday Cactus Pears

8.5x5.5 watercolor on sketchbook for mixed media done last month. Using a limited palette for these imaginary cactus leaves and pears I used: Payne's Gray, Perylene maroon, and quinacridone gold. Also I used multilead colored pencils by Koh-I-Noor Magic pencils. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Hot July Prickly Pears

10x14 watercolor on Stonehenge aqua 140 lb hot press paper done last week using a limited palette. This was a class exercise learning to mix three primary color versions of Payne's gray, Perylene maroon, and quinacridone gold. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Black Brusho Cactus

5.5x8.5 watercolor and Brusho crystals in mixed media sketchbook done first of July, another imaginary cactus scene in a dry climate. I wanted to explore what the black Brusho would look like with these plants. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Pink and Yellow Cactus Flowers

6x6 watercolor using White Nights pigments in sketchbook done over the past 2 weeks, another imaginary prickly pear cactus desert landscape. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

May Prickly Pears

6x8 watercolor using White Nights paints done last week, an imaginary cactus of prickly pears on handmade rough paper 140 lb cold press. I put in darks first followed by midtones then lights. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Red Prickly Pears Vignette

10x14 watercolor with White Nights paints done last week on Stonehenge Aqua 140 lb hot press paper; such a fun exercise from my earlier value study. In that study I used a black Tombow brush pen on Fabriano Bristol 100 lb paper for three values of dark, medium, and light with a #1 rigger brush to get a mid-tone. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Desert Plants

8.5x5.5 watercolor in Master's Touch sketchbook, 80 lb paper, done last week or so, a scene of desert plants including a century plant, agave, and other cactus or succulents. This landscape can be seen here in Texas or other locales in the southwest. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Cactus and Agave

8x6 watercolor on rough handmade paper done over a week ago combining two references into one composition of prickly pear cactus along with large agave plant. COPYRIGHT 2025 Kay Smith

Pink Prickly Polkadots Cactus

8x8 watercolor on Masters Touch 140 lb cold press paper began over the past weekend and finished yesterday by strengthening values in this imaginary prickly pear cactus scene. It is all painted in reverse, e.g. green pads (leaves) are warm colors and yellow orange blooms are in greens and blues. No masking fluid used for thorns, just painting around them. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Red Orange Cactus Flowers

5x7 watercolor using White Nights paints on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper painted a few weeks ago from some blooming cactus. The blossoms of red orange are a nice complementary color for all the green pods. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hidden Cactus

6x4 watercolor and ink on Saunders Waterford 140 lb cold press paper using an abstract design over a more realistic form of a cactus. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith