My acrylic painting “On the Marsh” is based on a photo I took in the aviary at Brookgreen Gardens, shortly after the zookeeper tossed out some fish at feeding time. Richard and I returned there recently. It’s a large, peaceful natural area enclosed in high netting, filled with flying and wading birds indigenous to the region. Brookgreen has an amazing show of Rodin sculpures ongoing through April 23, if you can make it.
“Egret in Tree,” drawn in pastel and charcoal on paper, is based on a photo taken at the Waccamaw Zoo rookery in 2021. I took the photo on a quiet morning by myself a couple of hours before the zoo opened to regular visitors. I’ve since imagined going back there to capture more images of these glorious water birds, but can only dream, as the zoo was permanently closed down last fall subsequent to a PETA lawsuit alleging conditions that deprived the various lions, lemurs, and more than 450 other animals of appropriate care and needs. I’m so glad they found new homes for those sad, confined animals — I still feel haunted by the memory of the lion’s roars I heard while focusing for hours on flying, nesting egrets. But my memory of the rookery itself is of perennial purity, freedom, and abundance. Although it’s on waters within the zoo, it remains a completely open and natural setting. The birds chose it. If only Richard hadn’t sold his boat last fall, maybe we could still find a quiet way in there now via the Waccamaw River.
“On the Marsh” and “Egret in Tree” have been juried into the Wilmington Art Association 2023 Spring Show, which takes place from April 8 through 16 at the Hannah Block Community Arts Center, 120 S Second Street, Wilmington, N.C. … my first time showing there. For anyone interested, the North Carolina Azalea Festival happens around the same time, April 12 through 16. I hope to attend the opening awards reception on Friday. April 7, 6-9 p.m.