Alligator

"Alligator at ACE Basin" 8x10 oil AVAILABLE

HELLO! I hope you enjoyed the 4 day break from my ramblings! There was no place to connect in the remote areas where I have been, so I gave y'all a little break.

I'll tell you about the art show tomorrow, but for now, the above painting will describe my latest! After SEWE, I went to the Donnelly Wildlife Refuge in the ACE BASIN of South Carolina. ACE Basin stands for the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers, which form the estuary and parts of the Refuge boundary. The entire basin encompasses more than 350,000 acres. I was invited there by good artist friends Joe Garcia and Adele Earnshaw, who speak there every year to some young South carolina Duck Stamp winners. We spoke to them Tuesday, and gave painting demonstrations from the Lodge where the Wildlife people put us up for a few days....then, we painted!

The place is amazing...just amazing: Mossy, old-South looking forrests just filled with wildlife: Herons, Egrets, Whooping Cranes, and LOTS of alligators....when we drove past the place we wanted to paint, there was a crowd of gators on the little finger of land that led to a small observation pier. We went elsewhere, but came back to find the gang still there. So, deciding to get out and photograph them, we walked toward them, aiming our cameras. I was extra brave, because I am pretty sure I can out-run Joe and Adele.... but the gators all slid back into the water, swam to a grassy area about 20 yards away and resumed sunbathing. There were seven in all, the longest one being about 7 feet long. I was told that they do not eat until the temperature rises to a certain level. I really wanted to paint the land and waterscape there, but since my eyes stayed glued to the gator, I had no choice but to paint him!

I have donated this painting to the big fundraising auction they have out there in May, so PLEASE let me know if you want info on purchasing it for a good cause!!