Cypress Slough Retreat

When settlers first came to Louisiana in the 1,700’s, they found 2,000 year old cypress trees that we now know were as large as the Sequoias of California. The cypress wood was considered some of the best wood in America for building houses, so the lumber companies cut them all down for housing and buildings. Our swamps today are protected wetlands so the next generation of trees will be able to thrive.

What you see in my painting is typical of what you would see in our swamps. Cypress trees and Spanish moss flowing in the brees, cypress knees, (root system coming out of the water to breathe), palmettos, lily pads, duck weed (looks like green carpet), Louisiana purple Irises, elephant ears, ferns, and resurrection ferns.

The white bird is an egret, hidden in the foliage is a Blue Heron, a hawk, a deer, a turtle, an alligator, a squirrel, a raccoon, a snake and a bullfrog.

The painting depicts a slough (pronounced slew),

or you could say an inlet.