Easter Swan
New Art Every Day - Day 21
Ink: Federal Optimist Mixable Color #000 Black 50mL
Brush: Princeton Velvetouch Mixed Media Brushes
Paper: Strathmore 300 Series Watercolor Paper 9x12 inches, (140lb/300g)
Paint: Winsor & Newton Cotman Series
The Swan has long been used to exemplify the grace, beauty, and transformative power of Christ. It’s a legitimate Easter symbol.
In real life, they’re almost as mean as a Goose.
When they built St. Catherine’s, the land they moved to elevate the construction site left a lake behind. One of the residents asked if they could use their own money to buy ornamental swans, which were surprisingly expensive. They were beautiful, but so aggressive that nobody could get near the shore to fish.
My other swan story deals with the years I lived on the water of the poorly named Ross Barnett Reservoir. One of my neighbors bought very expensive fertilized swan eggs and raised them until they were old enough to be released, thinking they would return to his dock for food, which they did.
At the time, many of us believed in something known as “The Pelahatchie Bay Monster,” described as a fourteen- or fifteen-foot-long bull alligator. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assured us that no such creature existed. They regularly patrolled the area, and with there were many smaller aligitaors, one that size they would have seen and relocated by now.
This sort of gentle conflict went on between the residents, fishermen, and the State for over a year, until one day my neighbor photographed the Pelahatchie Bay Monster eating one of his prize swans in one bite.
Once captured, the creature was 11 feet long and weighed over 500 pounds.
Most of my art supplies come from
The Beacon
3030 N State St,
Jackson, MS 39216
(601) 919-7477
Shop local helps local. Plus, you never know what you’ll get with the chains or Walmart.
Don’t forget to wash your brushes. You need them to keep their shape, and that’s the only way. Plus, good Brushes are expensive.