For one thing, it's being painted in acrylics which is my nemesis. And for another thing, it's all dark, creepy and green except for the egret. Of course, all the swamps I've been in were dark, creepy and slimy green so I guess it's pretty authentic!
I guess I don't mind the green so much and I actually like the background of trees although there's still a little bit more to do there. The thing with slimy green swamps is the green on the surface is sometimes kind of phosphorescent and I'd like to portray that but it's escaping me. The foreground, and of course the bird, need a lot of work and I'm just not sure where to go with them.
The composition is a mix of many reference photos and my own memories of camping in the swamps of Mississippi back in the late 60's. I guess I want to capture the feel of the swamp rather than the actual look of it and it's proving a very elusive thing to do! It's too bad one can't paint in the sound of a bobcat's cry in the middle of the night. I'm sure that would certainly complete the picture of the very essence of the swamp!
