Riparian Riches

"Riparian" refers to the life zone along a waterway or a lake and the riches are all the life inhabiting that zone from beneath the dappled water to the foliage in treetops. “I wanted to do a very long, wide-angle view of a slow-moving river because I really enjoy painting crystal-clear water with reflections including the textures in the foliage on the opposite side of the river,” said artist Stephen Lyman. “I purposely shortened the view to include just a peek of the sky, because I wanted the viewer to feel this landscape intimately. There’s sand, lichen on boulders, leaves, trunks of trees, grasses, roots and many other things. It’s almost like a still life. Even the bird, a great blue heron, stands motionless in the water, waiting for a fish to come by for breakfast. I chose him because of his quiet and patient personality.”