What I wanted to do in this oil on acrylic, or mixed media painting is capture the egret posed in the scintillating light of post-sunset. In those moments, before darkness descends, the air has a stillness and yet it gently vibrates with the second by second dimming light. The color of the light is unlike any other and has a magical feel to it. I am always transported to a different place in those few moments and then, before I know it, it is dark.

In this great egret painting I used many layers of transparent iridescent glazes for the background color to imitate the post-sunset, pre-night light. You cannot see this in the photograph of the painting, you have to see it in real life.

I saw this scene at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL but all over natural Florida, the beautiful white egrets are posed among the tree branches as the vanishing light reflects of their feathers.