Day 6 - 30/30 Challenge - Two Swans A-Swimming

Two Swans A-Swimming

Watercolor, 6" x 6", $35

Available in my Etsy shop.

I didn't mean to reference any Christmasy sort of thing - not two days in a row. Really, I didn't. But technically, Jan 6 is the 12th Day of Christmas - the Epiphany - so it's appropriate. And I honestly didn't title the painting until I started typing. It's like realizing someone's made a pun and not being able to stop the inevitable response(s). I'll try not to do it again. :-)

I went for snow-shoeing hike today in the always lovely Shu Swamp Preserve in Mill Neck. The ducks and geese and swans, as well as the giant carp and huge snapping turtles pass through this little tunnel from the cozy little pond out into the bigger Beaver Dam Pond. In the summer, swallows nest in the banks, bitterns quietly stalk through the reeds and ospreys fly over head. There may be river otter somewhere nearby - I've heard rumors that they live further upstream.

This was challenging to do in watercolor. I had to edit out most of the branches. They were pale grey with small red buds. Too complicated for this challenge. The grey/green/brown of the embankment/side of the tunnel behind the tree trunks also confused the issue. I wanted to try to keep it as simple as possible - the swans, the tunnel creating the reflected circle and the pond-scape beyond  - as well as a sense of season.

Now back to working out a new mermaid - but more on that another time.