"Crown of the Andes"  
Oil on masonite
30"x40"

Native to southern Mexico and Mesoamerica, poinsettias were cultivated by the Aztecs long before Christianity brought Christmas to North America.  In their native soil these plants can grow into straight trees which can reach ten feet tall.  This painting "Crown of the Andes" is one of my very favorites.  The white poinsettias in the near foreground look as if they have wings and could fly away.