ArtWalk Tonight! Hidden Mystery, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Hidden Mystery, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 7"x5"

Have you ever taken a canoe or kayak trip into the Everglades?  The landscape is lushly dense and bathed in a green warmth.  It's dark underneath the mangrove fringe with the light dancing on the canopy.  The water is crystal clear, with small fishes darting in and out of the relative safety of the cagelike growth of the mangrove roots.

There's the feeling of the exotic, of danger nearby, and the damp, peaty smell of wet swamp. There are spider webs and the occasional snake, and you may even glide over an alligator tail or two.

This time of year an alligator might bellow for a mate or a mosquito buzz around you looking for a meal.  You might hear the raucous call of a heron, but most of the time the whoosh of the boat moving thorough the water as you paddle is the only sound you'll hear. 

There's mystery in the Everglades, but it keeps its secrets well hidden.  You'll come out into the light again feeling like you've been birthed by some huge, green, beast. 

See you at Artist Colony at the Esplanade ArtWalk tonight 5-8 p.m.  If you visit all three galleries the glass of wine at Tara's is back for the summer!