Along the Bog
I’ve visited the bog at Malloryville several times this spring and summer to catch the pitcher plants in bloom. This recently completed painting barely shows the bog vegetation, but the strongly rooted tree and dappled lighting really appealed to me. When creating scenes such as this one, I always think back to one particular watercolor work by Albrecht Dürer which inspired me many years ago.
Very nice.
Now I want to see that Dürer!
I love this place. It’s worth visiting many times.
Seeing the rotting trunk just above its roots captures the cycle of life in a single object for me. I feel the roots, still grasping the earth, is losing the battle – or maybe it’s not a battle at all, but the way of all living things. The somber colors suggest a kind of struggle, a decomposition necessary for a rebirth. I like to think that reflects the time of this virus – a kind of renewal will happen when all is said and done. I have some similar photos from walks I took this spring at Tanglewood Nature Center in Elmira. The mosses on the roots of dying trees were turning that bright green, looking a bit “neon” next to the surrounding dead, brown leaves from fall. How can you not look at that and marvel at life? Nature is our best teacher and you have given us a poignant lesson with this image.