Thursday, March 11, 2010

"They Paved Paradise" collage mixed media of Great Blue Heron

great blue heron painting they paved paradise

Yeah! It's done. The mica paint came in on Monday, and today was the first day I've had to work on finishing "They Paved Paradise".


The effect is subtle, but very worth it. It has a gritty, Emory board kind of feel, and in the context of this painting, it does look like asphalt.


I choose the Great Blue Heron to represent all of the marsh creatures. It is iconic of the North American wetlands.


When I was young seeing a heron was rare and exhilarating. They have made a wonderful comeback by adapting to new environments, hench they are now the scourge of back yard water gardeners. Unfortunately other denizens of the wetlands aren't as adaptable.


Salamanders, frogs, various insects, and plant life all need the marsh and bog to survive. Thanks to the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Ducks Unlimited habitat is being saved and re-created. It is no longer considered acceptable to drain and fill in wetlands when building, but developers put in drainage ponds... not the same thing.


The increase in water gardening helps, especially if the gardener puts in a bog garden. Both of my ponds include bog gardens and bulrush bio-filters, they're very easy to make and extremely effective, and attract all kinds of interesting birds and critters.

On a slightly different note, signs of spring are every where, and today when I was out walking around the garden the first flock of swans flew over on their way to the Aylmer wildlife refuge. Awe inspiring!


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