20x24
Oil on Linen Board
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Beautiful white egrets command the swamps and wetlands in Eastern North Carolina. Patiently standing still in the black water to snag a minnow swimming by, they always make for a great picture as their snow white feathers are silhouetted behind the earth tones of the trees and reeds on shore. Every year when the water gets low and retreats to a narrow run, these birds gather in large numbers for easy pickings of crowded and cornered fish and frogs. I have taken several pictures of them behind my house and in the tupelo swamps on the farm, and my friend Russell Jinnette sent me some snaps of some that he had taken in Hyde County. I loved his reflections and combined some of his photos with my own from various swamps to reference this painting. These birds never seem to be afraid of anything and just seem laid back and carefree with everything going around them just minding their own business about eating that fish.
When I paint outside, I rarely listen to music, because I sincerely believe that what the painter hears becomes part of the painting along with what she or he smells and sees. In the studio, however, I love to put on my earphones and let pandora crank out tunes on my favorite stations. As I was blocking this one in, JJ Cale's Call Me the Breeze came on, and I couldn't help to think of how the lyrics described this bird's demeanor. The best version of this song to me is Lynyrd Skynyrd's live cover from their 1976 album One More From the Road. At the end of the song, Ronnie Van Zant cranks out, "Whoooo Hooooo Mr. Breeeeeezzzzzzeeeee!" I don't care who you are, how old or young you are, or where you are from, if that ending doesn't tingle the back of your neck then something is wrong.
