Wild Things Artworkby Patsy Lindamood

"Sandhills on the Stroll," 20" x 36" pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord,is the first piece in which I have included multiple wildlife subjects. "Sandhills on the Stroll" has been juried into several exhibitions, including the 2009 Florida Artists Juried Exhibition 2009, Gainesville, FL; and the Northwest Pastel Society's 23rd International Open Exhibtion 2009, American Art Company, Tacoma, WA. My original focus was on the sandhills, but I just could not bring myself to exclude the spoonbill and ibis who shared the pond with them. It is based on a composite of three different photos of sandhills taken at the Homossassa Springs State Park in 2007.

I am fascinated with sandhills. I find them to be strangely elegant. While their predominantly beige and grey plumage is certainly not striking in color, their tail feathers look just like a Victorian bustle to me.

Reflections in water have been a theme in many of my works. Depicting them effectively is a kind of puzzle for me.

Lastly, I debated initially whether all the rocks in this scene were too overwhelming, even boring. I believe the final result is a success. The piece was juried into the 2008 Spring/Summer American Juried Art Salon show with the commentary that the piece is "visually stunning," and "compositionally strong."