Written in 2025. Posted late —
SUNDOWN - ROSEATE SPOONBILLS
7’ x 9’4” — watercolor, pastels, and ink on collaged Stonehenge paper
Image by Jake Eshelman
At the turn of the century, women’s fashion nearly caused the extinction of the Roseate Spoonbill. Feathers for hats. By 1895 the spoonbill no longer bred in Texas.
In 1923 the National Audubon Society began leasing a chain of islands along the Texas coast. Slowly, the birds came back. Today approximately 3,000 pairs nest along the Texas coast.
That is the story in this piece. Not a decorative bird. A bird that almost wasn’t here — and is.
The Roseate Spoonbills are finished and in storage until the upper levels at 3100 Timmons Lane are repainted. When they go up they will join the Sandhill Cranes already installed on the first floor.
Two comeback stories. One building. An audience of nine to five.
SUNRISE - ROSEATE SPOONBILLS
7’ x 9’4” — watercolor, pastels, and ink on collaged Stonehenge paper
Image by Jake Eshelman
In my studio
Detail of sunrise piece
