Summer Saguaro

36x24 watercolor and acrylic on watercolor canvas, done last month before all the art shows started. With this simple design the elegant desert saguaro shows off its multicolored self along with its sharp pointed cactus thorns. The cactus itself is watercolor and background is acrylic over watercolor. Using an old credit card, I pulled acrylics down from the top to bottom. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

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

Saguaro Welcome

12x6 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper done last of May. In this imaginary dry desert landscape the tall saguaros seem to be opening their wide arms to any visitors. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Saguaro Bouquet

5.75x5 mixed media collage on matboard done a few weeks ago as a quick mini demo. In this imaginary desert cactus the saguaro takes on its own flowering top as a fancy bouquet. I've used markers, acrylics, India ink, watercolor, and paper to create this fun fantasy floral. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Rock Saguaro

4x2 acrylics on a river rock that was cleaned, prepped, then painted with a desert saguaro scene. With this 3D miniature I tried to show the excitement of the desert foliage. This was done last day of October. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Sunset Cactus in Pot

8.5x2.75 watercolor on Canson 117 lb cold press paper done in August, another vertical painting that is handy as a bookmark or framed as wall art. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Seductive Saguaro

9x7 mixed media on paper in Masters Touch 80 lb sketchbook begun yesterday then completed today. I began the imaginary saguaro cactus by sketching with multilead colored pencils, Magic brand, then added watercolor using all the greens and blues. Next were the bright blooms in warm colors. Background is a mix of indigo, ultramarine blue and Payne's grey. Acrylic mixed dark blue was applied over stencil from Stencil Girl on the dry background. Dots of different color acrylics were put on vertically. Lastly, sharp cactus thorns were drawn at random using STA Lictin 0.3 ink pen and some line work around the blooms as well. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Decorated Saguaro

9x12 mixed media collage on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done last week over a pencil sketch. Gouache and multicolored gel pens used to indicate thorns on the saguaro cactus spines. Collage pieces are cut from colorful magazine pages and adhered with matte medium. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith