The Rigolets

I grew up frequently spending time on the water – walking to Lake Pontchartrain with my brother and our fishing poles, hanging out at the pumping station with neighborhood kids, driving the boat while my dad skied behind us and, best of all, going on early morning fishing trips in Delacroix, LA. We aren't able to get out in my dad's boat much anymore. When we do we tend to stay a bit closer to town, fishing in a place called The Rigolets (rig-o-lees), where Lake Pontchartrain meets Lake Borgne and the Gulf of Mexico.  I've wanted to capture these marshland areas for a long time. I recently found this photo I'd taken a few years ago, and something told me it was the perfect composition. I painted this soon after completing Edith VIckers, which explored the use of curved, amorphous shapes rather than focusing on acute details. I used the same approach here, which helped bring the vision of this landscape together gracefully.