Description
“Arizona Bluecurls Trichostema Arizonicum”
- 14x11in.
- Oil on Canvas
- Unframed
It is a perennial plant in the mint family Lamiaceae native to the Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) and northwestern Mexico. Found in Madera Canyon, it has striking curling flowers. The graceful stamens that curl around to dab pollen on the backs of insect pollinators.
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland, Mountain (lower elevation)
Flower Color: Bicolored violet-blue and white
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall. wildflower blooms from July to October.
Height: To 2 feet (61 cm) tall
The flowers are in loose, axillary clusters. The individual flowers have 5 lobes and an arc of 4 curling stamens that are up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The lowest flower lobe is dark violet-blue with ruffled edges, while the other 4 lobes are white. The leaves are small, green, opposite, and oblong to ovate in shape.
About the Artist:
As a young man I was always outside observing my surroundings. I graduated from Elsenburg College Stellenbosch in South Africa with degrees in Agriculture, Horticulture, and Oenology. I first specialized in growing roses and fruit trees in the Eastern Cape region where I taught local farm workers to play rugby and established a rugby league while they taught me how to speak their native tongue, Xhosa.
I traveled the world extensively and then settled in Tucson, Arizona where I live with my wife Sarah and two sons James and Gordon. Sarah, Yale educated in art history, finally put the palette knife in my hand. I am self-taught and express what comes naturally to me. My paintings are full of movement, deep and rich. I let the moment, mood, and my education of the subject, inspire my art.
