That Land...

In June 2016 I went to my 30^th High School reunion in Defuniak Springs, Florida.  It’s the first time I’ve been able to spent any appreciable time there since 1992 and it was good to be home.  The first night of the reunion we had a bonfire on the beach.  Driving to it (Defuniak is 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico…) I noticed all the development that had taken place; some good, some bad.  There was a public beach access spot near the bonfire location nestled amongst condominiums to the left and right.   In the 1970’s as kid, I remember going with my parents to see my grandparents.  We’d drive along Highway 98 and from the point we left Destin to nearly Panama City we could travel miles and miles without seeing any development; just coast grasslands, scrubby flatwoods and pine forest.  Now it is nearly all concrete and metal, car horns and mini-marts. 

Prior to the trip I had just finished reading “The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise.”  As a misplaced Floridian I keep up with the politics, history and goings-on of the State.  The book detailed the effects of development on South Florida (and Florida as a whole) and the attempt to drain the Everglades. The damage done to nature by Florida’s development engine really became apparent on my journey home.  Places I used to surf; I couldn’t get to.  Fields I remember seeing were gone; built over or paved.  What we are seeing is a universal tale; the struggle between man and nature, the power of pride and the price of hubris.

I had been invited to take part in a group show with a theme of "prohibited" before I left. With the changes I'd seen an idea started to germinate.   A bird had to be in it as that’s my “thang.”  I needed the right bird to capture what I’d read about and seen.   The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is one of the most endangered birds in the US and has been left isolated around the Everglades.   It’s been prohibited from its natural habitat by development and its effect upon the Everglades.

Along with the coastal development there have arisen disputes over who owns the beach.   I saw it epitomized by signs...no trespassing, no public beach access, etc.  I’m of the opinion the beach should be public domain from the high tide line to the water, but honestly it should be public domain for nearly 1000 yards from the water to preserve the beach ecosystem.   I decided to use a “No Public Beach Access” sign.  It's something my 16-year old, beachcomber self would readily ignore.

I recently started using old maps as a background for my paintings and paring them with the right birds in a series I’m calling Maps & Legends.  This one is anchored by a map of Florida. Maps trigger the memory of a place long lost but still crystal clear; a grandfather's yarn beginning with "I remember when my Daddy and I used to go…"

Birds have ingrained memory being able to return to their breeding grounds or winter ranges year after year. Due to habitat loss they are experiencing more and more of what would be our version of "remember when there used to be…" As the climate changes and unmanaged development continues, wildlife is pushed to margins of existence.  These paintings might mark an unfortunate place on the map for "remember when we used to see..."

The piece is named “That Side Was Made for You and Me.”   It’s from “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie.   The song has the following stanza that sums it up:

As I went walking I saw a sign there

And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”

But on the other side it didn’t say nothing, 
That land was made for you and me.

Low Ebb, High Tide

I'm a member of the local art's council and earlier this year a new Director was hired.  She's making huge strides pushing the organization forward.  One new twist is quarterly artist challenges.  The first one is a call for member artwork that invokes the idea, feeling, meaning or experience of the word GREEN. It will be used to open a new gallery space.

The obvious thought was to use recycled or "upscaled" materials.   Initially I wanted to use some of the wood and panel scraps I've accumulated as part of my painting and framing process.  I had a rough idea for an oddly shaped piece using footprints and silhouettes of birds, but didn't really take off when I played scrap wood layout Tetris.  It just seemed overly simplistic.

I'd been hanging onto a reference photo of a Great Egret for quite a while.  I have memories fishing with my grandparents on Wetappo Creek as a kid.  The surroundings would be all manner of tropical greens with moss swaying in the trees as the breeze blew.  In the middle of all this would be a large, white bird perched on an overhang.  An interesting fact about the Great Egret is the lore (the skin between the eyes and beak)  becomes neon green during mating season and long plumes called aigrettes grow from its back.  These plumes were why it was hunted to near extinction during the 19th century.

I was reluctant to paint it partly because I wanted it to be a large size and my confidence is tested when it comes to large paintings.  My comfortable working size is around 11 X 14.  With this challenge I thought the risk might be low enough to give it a shot.  I like the wood scrap idea so it was time to harvest!

The planks I used were actually recycled from a homemade compost bin I made 12 years ago from pallets I got from a local business.  So essentially they've been recycled twice!   I tried to select planks that had similar texture and interesting personality; splits, knot holes and nail heads.  I was lucky to find four that had a faint green stain over parts.  The boards also forced me outside a comfort zone of uniform smoothness.

I sketched out the Egret and transferred the image to the boards.  I applied sealant to just the interior portions of the sketch so as not effect the natural coloration of the unpainted areas.   Its the same polymer sealant I use on the birch panels I normally paint upon.   The sealant prevents any extraneous color contained in the wood from staining any part of the painting especially the white of the Egret. I used Windsor & Newton professional grade acrylic to complete the painting.   I also utilized sterilized Spanish moss as decoration to complete the piece.   Spanish moss is essentially a recycler.  It has permeable scales it uses to "catch" moisture and nutrients from the air.  Where I grew up it decorated all the trees.

I named the piece "Low Ebb, High Tide" and it has it's own "green" relationship.    The piece has a remembrance aspect so I was drawn to the song "I Remember California" which has various stanzas starting with "I remember..."  and one of the lyrics is "Low ebb, high tide."   The song is off an album by REM called GREEN.  REM provided the soundtrack for most of my teenage years.