A Different Light painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

A Different Light, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 36"x24"

In speaking to a potential customer at the studio recently, we spoke about the fact that I've been painting the Everglades for almost 20 years.  I tried to explain the draw and pull of the ancient landscape, and how it's beauty and it's many personalities provide abundant opportunities for inspiration. 

Today, reading a article about Maine artist Connie Hayes, made me think about this on a deeper level.  Her quote  "The more beautiful a subject matter the harder it is to probe it's power" helps express what I was trying to say.

My work in the Everglades is more than just an attempt to portray the subtle layering of color in the pastel morning sky, or the thrusting urgency of a palm struggling to survive in a soil singularly lacking in sustenance. 

Each time I pick up my brush is an attempt to forge a deep connection with the underlying natural world of the place that inspired me.  The Everglades landscape is a world humans have exploited and misused for years, but we are ultimately responsible for.  I want you to see more than just a painting, but into the heart and soul of the landscape as well.

It's a lofty goal.  I may never achieve it fully, but trying's the thing.

If you are Christian, I'm wishing you a joyous and uplifting Easter!