Prickly Pear watercolour

Watercolour: 'Prickly Pear'



The fruit of the prickly pear fruit demands attention as the colour is close to complementary on the colour wheel. These cactus fruit are also known as cactus figs and are used for food. I have heard of a jelly being made from them. You must remove the fine spines on it by peeling or burning them off. In Mexico it's fruit had historically been made into alcoholic beverages.

One thing I didn't know is that the prized natural, cochineal (red) dye is made from an insect that lives on this type of cactus. I would love to see the range of red shades it produces.