Century Bloom

Century plants, agave of the Chihuahuan Desert, delight me when they finally send up the thick stalk that hold their blossoms. Not many features of the desert reach skyward, so for a painter, agave blooms are a compositional gift. But in this small painting, it was the backdrop of sky that orchestrated my composition. As I painted, I imagined the sky and the yellow blooms as dancing partners, waltzing across the high desert.