Adele Wayman

Swamped! Paintings of the Haw River Wetlands

I began these paintings caught by the beauty of the wetlands of the Haw River State Park, an easy walk from our home and studio. After heavy rains, my eye is drawn to the bright glimpses of blue reflected in the waters through giant beech trees whose branches – so like our own gestures – reach down through twisted growth to the swamp.

Should I paint just the blue glow of the water punctuated by sun and shade on tree trunks? Or move in closer with a tiny brush to paint the twisting vines? Or try to capture subtle shifts in the current or reflections?  Maybe I’ll leave unpainted areas of the open canvas and let my illusion of the swamp gradually emerge.

As I paint, the metaphor of the swamp becomes deeper and more meaningful. I imagine not draining the swamp, but preserving it and our earth and its creatures for generations of our children. Can we leave our personal swamps and reconnect with each other?  We forget  that we are nature too, all part of one incredible and interdependent world.