The title of this picture is “Missed One.” It’s a picture of a bald cypress in early spring, when the buds and leaves were just coming out. At the same time in the spring the wild purple irises were blooming. It depicts a large, white (but not albino) alligator, which was added to the picture because all of these alligators are actually in captivity throughout the zoos of America and the world. If you’ve seen a white alligator at a zoo, and by the way these have blue eyes, not pink as albinos would, they all come from the same clutch of eggs, which were found in 1987 approximately five miles from my home by a local fur trapper. The oil company who owned the land took possession of the gators, and leased them to various zoos around the world. The picture is done on a neutral green background, and the bright green of the tree is the actual color of the freshwater swamp after the cold winter, when it warms, and life begins anew. It’s titled Missed One out of the possibility that when the clutch of young alligators was discovered, possibly they “missed one,” and it’s still living in the backwaters of Louisiana. This picture shows the simple beauty and color of the freshwater swamps.

*Original includes mounting with triple matting under clear glass in a neutral frame.                

     Return to Gallery

Quality Art at Affordable Prices ~ Fred Marks, Artist