Sunset Yucca

Original acrylic and charcoal on hardboard

Available for purchase

R12 500

Yuccas are austere plants for most of the year: all sword-like leaves, sharp points and an air of being perfectly able to look after themselves. Then, around midwinter in the Western Cape, they do something quite extraordinary. From the centre rises a great candelabra of delicate, bell-shaped white blossoms—so extravagant and unexpectedly soft that many people don’t even connect the flowers as belonging to yuccas.

That contrast is what first drew me to this yucca. I wanted to capture both its toughness and its brief, theatrical transformation against the blaze of a “shepherd’s delight” sunset.

A second, loosely sketched yucca sits behind —a shadow or echo of the first. And, almost disappearing into the upper corner, is the faintest suggestion of a sugarbird, reaching into the flowers. It is there to be discovered rather than announced.

At 809 × 1024 mm, with substantial 50 mm edges, Sunset Yucca is designed to make an impact. It would hold its own particularly well in an entrance hall, restaurant, office or any space that calls for a bold welcome and rewards a closer look.