"Lake St. John, Ferriday, LA, II"

“Lake St. John, Ferriday, LA, II” features one of the many massive oxbow lakes along the Mississippi River. A fairly common occurrence (before the advent of the levee system), oxbows form when a river overflows its banks and changes course. Occasionally, whole lengths of the river become cut off and isolated from their original source, thus creating a new, independent body of water.

Specifically, this painting is based on a photograph of a series of docks jetting out into the water along the lakefront of a friend’s family lake house there. Throughout the year, folks fish and boat, and in the summer months, undeterred by the potential reptilian dangers lurking beneath the surface, folks swim and water ski up and down the long stretch. I have bravely jumped from that dock into the dark waters of Lake St. John just to hurry back up the ladder pictured in the painting when something unknown grazed my leg. Suffice it to say, I’m not as brave as the locals who give as little thought to the gators, snakes, and gar of the lake as they do sunscreen and sobriety. It’s simply a way of life.

And that approach to living inspired “Crawfish Boil, II,” based on a photograph from an Independence Day in the same location, celebrating with friends, family, and copious amounts of crawfish and beer, enjoying life’s simple pleasures out on Lake St. John.