"Cattle Egret and Deadwood" by Brenda Hofreiter

This painting was created on location at Orlando Wetlands Park near Fort Christmas, Florida. I had brought along a long skinny canvas this day thinking I would do a vista with it. While I was walking along the trail, I was fascinated by the wonderful smells, colors and textures of the riotous wetland growth and the way it looked against the smooth bark of the deadwood. I thought it would be an interesting vertical composition to put on a skinny piece of wall. You know that place on the wall near a door or window you never know what to do with? It was a bonus that a Cattle Egret also found the deadwood irresistible and decided to pose for this! Fortunately, he didn't seem in any hurry to fly away, giving me time to paint him into the scene. I usually don't put wildlife in my paintings because of time restraints, but this one was posing so nicely, I couldn't resist. I love being invisible to the wildlife while I paint. They just go about their business as if I were a tree or bush. It really makes me feel as though I am a part of the natural world, if only for a while.