A Study in Grey

  At times, the Bayou can be downright colorful!  With a great number of waterfowl with bright plumage and with a myriad of plants with brilliant blooms, color is easy to find.  Then, throw in a sunrise or sunset and those hues have a tendency to look almost like a crayon box explosion!  At other times, it is grey.  Simply grey.  No other colors, no vibrant hues, nothing at all to even give a blush to the scenery.   Today was one of those grey days.  The sun did not pop out to brighten up the place at all!  It was simply grey.

  I took a few photographs of the Bay just to capture the stillness of the moment.  Although earlier it had been blowing a gale, the winds calmed a bit as I headed out the door.  This calmness and greyness gave the Bayou an eerie feeling.  I could find none of my usual critter friends and that made it even seem more ominous.  I almost felt as if I was alone in the world.  To most folks this solitude would seem to portend some dismal event and this greyness might foreshadow unhappy times but for me, I revel in it.  Days like today stoke the creativity inside my brain!

  I can see past the monotone shades to see the beauty that can sometimes be covered over by flashy hues.  I am intrigued by the simple flowing curves of the marsh contrasting against the ragged edges of clouds being whipped by high winds aloft.  I am fascinated by the blackness of the pier posts silhouetted against the metallic grey waters.  I am curious why only the windows of the boat have a slight tinge of teal in a photograph of almost all grey.  My interest is piqued to the point of exhilaration! This study in grey pushes me to paint the scene.  If only.  If only I could recreate something so excitingly vibrant as this greyness, so peaceful as this stillness, so refreshing as this solitude then I will have succeeded in being an artist.