STORY BEHIND THE ART OF GILLIAN RICE

17th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at The Horticultural Society of New York

Paper Spine Cactus

Tephrocactus articulatus var. papyracanthus

This Paper Spine Cactus attracted me the first time I spotted it in the Desert Botanical Garden shop in Phoenix. What was this intriguing individual with its curling paper-like tentacles? I had to buy it! I learned that it hails from Argentina but adapts well to the desert southwest where I live. It’s tough but delicate. A free spirit, it expands into an unruly clump. It continually drops cone-shaped segments that sometimes struggle into new plants.

My painting shows a part of my Paper Spine Cactus in late summer. I wanted to show an abandoned segment – will it develop into a plant or just wither and shrivel? My husband loves to tidy my garden, so any segment has to start rooting quickly. At the top of one segment in my painting are a few small fruits. In spring, my cactus produces clotted cream colored flowers that last only a couple of days. Ants love to forage among the flower cups and around the bases of the paper spines.

The calming nature of the cactus’s greyish green incorporates subtle variations and patches of brighter yellow green. Portraying the right color was the biggest challenge with this plant. I use a limited palette of six colors, which I mix on a white china plate. Another challenge I faced was the pale color of the spines: how could I depict them on white paper? I thoroughly enjoyed drawing the curls, however! I also love the “old man” wrinkles at the base of the older segments.

My painting technique is drybrush. I use no masking fluid and instead paint around the spines. I tackle the spines at the end. I use tiny paintbrushes and paint as if I am drawing with colored pencils. To see the detail, I paint under a large magnifying glass.

Because I live in the desert, I enjoy painting cacti. A cactus grows slowly and never wilts: the perfect painting specimen! My favorite subjects are the plants in my own garden. Having live specimens also helps me to capture a plant’s character. It was love at first sight for the Paper Spine Cactus and me. And, here was a harmless cactus, I thought – before I discovered that it has tiny prickles at the base of each paper spine.

This painting is particularly special to me because it depicts one of the first plants I installed in my desert garden over twenty years ago. I’m still learning so much about gardening. My aging cactus with the graceful dancing spines is certainly sturdy because it has survived in spite of me.

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