Great Blue Heron – LITHO – 105/290

21″ x 14″

“The process of original printmaking appeals to me because it is a human process;
it involves no complex optical equipment other than my own eyes.  I believe
that technology often separates us from nature, and I like the idea that my
original prints are made by my hand.

This elegant bird is the largest of the heron family. Over half of its length is the
head and neck, a well-designed javelin system. The gracefully folded neck
can straighten with lightning speed aimed at a luckless frog or fish. With a toss
of the head, the prey is swallowed, and the hunting pose is resumed. So
motionless is this pose, that the heron resembles a painting on a Japanese
screen or goes unnoticed altogether. Many times, I have paddled around a
curve in a river to be startled by a croaking squawk. The heron inevitably sees
me first and takes off on great wings which spread as wide as I am tall. When
taking flight, the neck is stretched out but is folded back as the cruising
speed is reached. Herons are mistakenly called cranes by some people, but the
much rarer cranes fly with necks outstretched.
Great blue herons are found where land and water meet in almost all of the
habitable parts of North America.”

N08-081