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Anhinga in Paradise

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Anhinga in Paradise

Here is a recently posted painting called: “Anhinga in Paradise.” The anhinga in the painting is a female. How do I know? Because the females have a buff colored head, neck, and chest while the males are black in those areas. The male has a larger wingspan, but this female is fairly large and is probably not a spring chicken or a juvenile.

Anhingas have no oil in their wings as most water birds do. This allows them to dive deeply for fish without having trapped air in their feathers slow them down or hold them back. The down side is their feathers are heavy and wet when they come to the surface. That's why they appear to be sunnning themselves as they spread out their wings. In actuality, they are drying their wings off before they take the plunge again and repeat the exercise. These birds have a voracious appetite, and can clean out a small lake or pond in a matter of days or weeks.

My artwork is not completely realistic by choice. I prefer to celebrate nature and exaggerate the colors and the beauty that sparks my imagination -- not that nature isn’t beautiful just as she is; but I like to force the viewer to see nature in another dimension.

For example, when most people look at a palm tree that’s all they see. An artist sees the lavenders, greens and blues in the shaded areas, and the pinks, and warm grays on the sunlit ones. I enjoy exaggerating the tones of tropical blues and aqua hues in the fronds and the way these colors change with light and shadow.

I sometimes like to emphasize the shapes of leaves and petals and the way they appear to turn, as if they’re in motion. You can see some of these examples on my FAA gallery.