Near the entrance to Jane Fonda’s old ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara, I took this photo of a prickly pear cactus growing behind a stone wall. I was on an early morning walk in the hills before breakfast. The red fruit caught the early morning sun, as did the edges of the paddles. Several willow branches hung down in front of this set piece — they too caught the morning light.
Several months later, I worked this photo into a pastel, using very hard Prismacolor pastels. An early work of mine.
