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Painting in the Everglades has been a wonderful opportunity for me. For me it is of primary
importance to draw and paint directly what I see, I never work from photographs or memory.
The scetchbook I have prepared this semester is going to be a helpful guide and reference book in the
future. I have entangled myself in the environment out there and it shows especially in the first
illustration. In this aquarell the process was more important than the end result: We had been "slough
slogging" for hours only to arrive at a cypress stand that seemed wetter than the very wet
surroundings. Fallen trees at least gave us the possibility to sit - crouched - for a little while
and this is where I started painting the water, the trees, the reflections.
My paper had fallen in the water a couple of times and it was thoroughly wet. Naturally halfway into
the project it started raining. When I got home not much of the image had remained, but I find that
it shows the feeling and the crampedness of quarter.
The second illustration is aquarell and ink drawing and I think shows the variety of color and form
that one encounters in the Everglades. It shows a palm tree engulfed by air plants and vines and in
the background a tree eaten by a banyan ficus. All this drama is topped by a South Florida blue sky.
I like the contrast that is visually given in this painting. It gives a good idea of what the
Everglades are like when one is emersed in them. |
