I painted this Great Blue Heron several months after we first moved down to the farm. The construction process for our own home was going much slower than planned thanks in large part to several layers of bureaucratic red tape required by the county. On a particularly aggravating morning I stepped outside to get some fresh air and clear my head. As I leaned against the pasture fence in the golden morning light I saw the silhouette of a Great Blue Heron still as a statue in the shallow waters of a nearby pond. Quick as death, the heron's long neck snapped the sharp beak into the water and pulled out a small frog. The bird shook its head violently as it strode to shore to quickly swallow the frog whole. I watched the display as quietly as I could for as long as I could, but when it finally took to the sky with several flaps of its great wings, it flew directly overhead low enough that I could see individual feathers on its wings and belly. It was an important moment for me, and one I revisited often. It would all be worth it for a lifetime full of moments like that for me and my family. All that was required was a little patience.
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