With wings fully outstretched, a great egret rises into the air—a moment of grace, light, and quiet power. In Great Flight, I wanted to capture the stillness inside that motion, the way this luminous white bird lifts itself out of the shadows with such purpose and ease. The contrast between the egret’s feathers and the dark, moody background gives the painting depth and atmosphere, while the light across the wings pulls your eye into that upward movement.

What makes this piece truly unique is the surface it’s painted on. After living along the California coast for more than 25 years, I found places where natural clay outcrops were exposed by the ocean waves. Each spot had its own color and texture. For this painting, I gathered clay from four or five different beaches, sifted and smoothed it, and added glue to create a paintable surface. Once the clay dried, it bonded permanently to the wood panel. That mottled, organic background—earth collected by hand—became the foundation for the egret.

Great Flight and my painting Out for a Stroll are the only two pieces I’ve made this way. Painting this ghostly white bird over that raw, coastal clay felt like bringing together two kinds of beauty—earth and flight, groundedness and motion.