Estuary

9x12 oil on panel - nfs

Saturday morning we got to go out to Crane House which is a private wildlife sanctuary and bed & breakfast. It was beautiful and our host, Al, was very gracious and clearly loved this special place. We saw an alligator smiling on the bank, we saw pretty pink-footed whistling ducks and lots of deer. No whooping cranes though at this time of year. During winter, they are found in the estuaries I painted above. The mosquitoes could have carried us away if not for the wind. 

This is not my cup of tea - painting vistas. I learned a long time ago when I was painting the landscape regularly that I just could not do long vistas. My friend Terri asked if I was near-sighted or far. I'm near-sighted - and without contacts/glasses - I can barely see my hand in front of my face. She, on the other hand, is far-sighted and can't see well close up. So when we painted up close subjects in the dockyards, I was happiest. It made me wonder if vision is really a factor even with corrective lenses? I obviously like to paint things close up, intimate and personal. I like to have things cropped in the foreground, or door frames, or something framing a scene even. Its an interesting idea. Terri enjoyed this long distance view and much of her work is of western desert scenes from a high perspective. I liked my sky above. That is about it. Oh, and because of the wind and insects, we timed ourselves and painted just 30 mins. or so. I hope to go back when the cranes are there. What a sight that must be!