J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art

“Blooming Cactus”

Porfirio Salinas

Oil

16 x 20

New to the selections of great paintings at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art San Antonio location is a wonderful Masterpiece by the Renowned Early Texas Artist Porfirio Salinas, titled: Blooming Cactus. Although this pictorial desert is not a typical coveted bluebonnet painting; ones that are routinely sought after, “Blooming Cactus” is a gem of its own.

A mostly monochromatic desert-scape spotlights the lonely world of a cactus bush; secluded by itself on a winding pathway deep in the Texas Hill County. Salinas captures the early morning light with subtle shadows and mountainous misty haze.

On the right hand of the pictorial plane sits the blooming cactus of orange and red flowers, soaking up the daytime sun. Evening-out the compositional scale is a ragged, non-leaved dry brush on the left side, showing varied undergrowth that is characteristic of Texas climates.  The title references the foreground vegetation, but the visual focus is primarily the snaking and trodden rocky pathway- winding back, off into an unobservable curve and over a knoll. Salinas peaks our interest with what is around that unseen corner and into the oblivion.  As viewers, we know this is a heavily traveled path by the degree of impression on the dirt and rock; alluding to various needs to make the travels.

In analyzing the painting, we see that Salinas is very aware of his middle ground as well as his background. There is a repeated motif of outcrops of branches that jet out well above their spatial limitations that show character; both on the left side of the pathway, exposing naked branches and slightly bloomed foliage.

Fifty yards beyond the foreground cactus plant exists a small cropping of cactus that looms in the mid-ground; a spotty undergrowth that adds much needed pathway jump of color. The orange dots of paint on this visually suppressed cluster allow the viewers’ eye to move deeper into the painting; bring hue and lively conversation between the two.

Salinas’s treatment of the sky adds another luster of artistic genius with sporadic cloud formations that do not distract for the subject matter. Whimsically painted, the clouds act as a hint of overcast promise, shielding the trail traveler from the hot desert sun.

Adding to the market value of “Blooming Cactus” is the artist’s signature. Salinas has a very clean and recognizable signature on lower left corner; something that is favorable to all collectors.

-Gabriel Diego Delgado

Call the gallery at 210-828-8214 to ask about pricing.

Or come on by the gallery and see the painting in person at 

8302 Broadway , San Antonio, TX 78209.