It was a quiet morning. Birds were just stirring from their roosts; a pair of otters were enjoying each other’s company along the edge of spartina grass. There was almost no wind and only small fish stirred the surface in the shallows at Oregon Inlet. A great egret was preening itself atop the crown of a wax myrtle on the bank— the curve of the neck and the beak turning in on wings partially open and welcoming. The beauty was absorbed in the moment with no mindfulness of me or really anything. I had never painted that preening posture so it was a lot of fun trying to capture the moment in this painting.
