Thursday, December 2, 2010

Keeping it vertical


Refuge 3
24 x 18
pastel on Wallis Museum


Pacing and growling over vertical landscapes again today. This time with quiet water and a serene scene from my favorite spot, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

Did you know that in 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt started the national wildlife refuge program by designating Florida's Pelican Island as a protected wildlife preserve? You can read more about these precious national resources here.


This afternoon was a little cloudy and dark at the refuge, but the sky was filled with swans and geese and cranes. I watched all kinds of ducks splash in the ponds and share jokes with the chuckling mallards. I also saw this very well fed coyote! Yikes.

6 comments:

SamArtDog said...

The river runs through your growly painting beautifully.

Not every NWR is pristine wilderness. Yet. Here in Colorado, one is Rocky Flats, a former nuke weapons plant, and the other is the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which speaks for itself. Back in the day, we all circled both with hands held in a human chain of protest. I guess it sort of worked, because both are now where the glow-in-the-dark buffalo roam. The ongoing cleanup has the half life of God, but as Teddy Roosevelt knew well, conservation is a bully act of faith.

Celeste Bergin said...

Oh my---look at that Coyote! wow!
The vertical format looks right to me here! I love the strong blue water

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Hi Sam! I've been to some recovered NWR sites, too (and glad that the human chain of protest accomplished something life-affirming in CO). I remember hiking one near Arcata, CA that was a recovered industrial area. They used to dump toxins into the river and the bay and then did a clean up plus wildlife refuge. Now you can see mating Avocets there and many other migratory birds. Amazing! Thanks for the comment. TR is my favorite president.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Hi Celeste! It was great to see you yesterday. I have a lot of work to do to make sense of the vertical format.

Anonymous said...

interesting,bravo

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

I love the vertical format too and am thankful for the preservation on beautiful places that would be lost to us if not for some forward thinking!