Spanish Dagger

Dear Folks,

This time we go back to Texas landscapes. This one was done in my very own front yard. These Spanish Dagger--a type of yucca to those of you not familiar with Texas--were already here when we built our house on what had been a cow pasture. It was just a wild native. We built a little rock garden around it and have given it minimal water so it looks a bit hard scrabble most of the time. But come spring, the old yucca puts out these spectacular large multiple blooms which are most impressive.

This piece was done plein air, meaning I sat on a chair outside in the sunshine and painted it the way you see it. That's the horse pasture behind it. See?

I like this one very much and have opted to keep it rather than offer it for sale. I like the red underpainting. Remember my discussion about bright colors as underpainting in those coastal pieces? Well, here we have it in a more desert type environment. And it works nicely as a counterpoint to the muted greens of the various plants.

I have to tell you about my friend Anne, who visited us from upstate New York a few years ago. She was wearing white pants when she got too interested in the various native plants in this grouping and walked right into one of the pointed ends of the Spanish Dagger. She got a very good lesson on why these plants are called that. The blood on that white pair of pants was quite stunning. I think she still remembers that incident. So, these things are fun to look at, but don't get too close!

Jay