Cactus – Jean Krueger Fine Art

Ford Canyon Trail, Maricopa County, AZ

I’m hiking as much as I can while I spend a few weeks of winter in Arizona. Each hike I determine to see at least one wondrous sight. Sometimes I see the rare desert pool of water, sometimes I see a herd of deer, perhaps a lizard or an early blooming of cactus. Most frequentlyContinue reading “Ford Canyon Trail, Maricopa County, AZ”

San Pedro Cactus 2

The San Pedro Cactus is a gorgeous plant. They grow tall and wide and have straight regular columns or can be quite gnarly and contorted, depending on the growing environment and genetic mutations. The one I’ve painted is of the gnarly type. It grows at altitudes of 2-3,000 ft and is a known hallucinogen. What’sContinue reading “San Pedro Cactus 2”

Jojoba and Ferocactus

While in Arizona I try to hike every day. The temperature is still below 70 degrees F. during the day, perfect for walking. I walk in one of the Maricopa County Regional Parks, a wild and varied landscape with lots of rocks, animals and plants. I’m always looking for my next painting when I’m there.

Lizard Cacti Bugs

Desert symbiosis.

Earth Quail Cactus Sky

It’s a simple life in the desert.

Buckthorn Cholla

The Buckthorn Cactus, botanically known as Cylindropuntia acanthocarpia, is a native of the Sonoran Desert. It’s flowers are yellow or red with shades in between that bloom in spring. The cane-like stalks are covered with thorns and grow in tangled clumps in dry, arid landscape. The flowers are quite showy and bees love ’em.

Field of Chollas

Chollas are botanically in the subfamily of Opuntioideae, the same family which includes cactus’s with broad, flat leaves. The leaves of the Cholla are round-ish and really spiny. They quickly become stuck to any object that comes close to it. Their spines hurt and aren’t easy to remove once impaled in either fabric, fur orContinue reading “Field of Chollas”

Category Archives: Cactus