I look forward to the quiet time of winter, a time to rest, recharge, and begin again. What’s new? Like a prelude to spring here, the past few months I’ve been working on a Florida project. This has taken me from my nearby, familiar beaches to the Gulf Coast and its estuaries.
Bonita Beach, 40 x 54, oil on linen
Along the flat, granite-less coastline, the light is different, influenced by latitude, a west-facing beach, warm spring days mixed with stormy, fall-like ones. The beach people are out in their suits on the warm days. Fishermen are casting from the shore or trolling in boats. Instead of dogs (not allowed) on the beach there are birds, and what’s odd is how tame they seem to be. Flocks of willets feed at your feet on the shoreline. A particular snowy egret stands next to people or even stands in their lap, waiting for a handout?
Snowy Egret, 21 x 14, oil on paper
When I migrate back home and begin to work from my studies, I notice a different point of view. Something has shifted a little. Outside the sun is higher in the sky and its strength is waking things up. Red-winged blackbirds are returning. The new year is rising.
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