Cypress Dome Drama

2nd Place win in the contest WETLANDS, 05/09/2022, Members Participating: 291, Images Submitted: 485

2nd Place win in the contest WETLANDS,... more

by Gary F Richards

Buy the Original Digital Art

Price

$500

Dimensions

3600.000 x 4000.000 pixels

Title

Cypress Dome Drama

Artist

Gary F Richards

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Painting

Description

2nd Place win in the contest WETLANDS, 05/09/2022, Members Participating: 291, Images Submitted: 485

2nd Place win in the contest WETLANDS, 12/28/2021, Members Participating: 260, Images Submitted: 263

Top Finish Honorable Mention 4 of 1444 in the contest BIRDS THAT LOVE WATER, 08/26/2021, Members Participating: 297, Images Submitted: 1444

Reflections of the sky, trees, spanish moss, and wildlife catch your eye in this digital painting by Gary F Richards of a cypress dome or swamp scene, typical of Florida, USA. The early morning light shines through the misty morning air casting shadows and reflections in the dark waters. In the right foreground a greater egret surveys the scene from a tree branch. On the left middle-ground another egret catches a frog for a mid-morning snack from a lily-pad and flies off to feed it’s fledgling family leaving a wake of water splashing among the lily-pads. Meanwhile, a turtle couple balances on a log to catch the early morning sun-rays warming their shells, seemingly unperturbed by what just took place. In the right background, another egret waits for its turn to catch a small fish swimming by unaware. In the distant upper left a bald eagle on a high limb surveys the scene ready to dive down and claim its own catch of the day. These wild creatures don’t seem to be the least bit aware of the American alligator slowly approaching from the lower right foreground. Except maybe for the front turtle on the log as it is looking over its right shoulder and appears ready to slide into the water to get away.

CONTEST WINNERS AND TOP FINISHES
Top Finisher #6 out of 191 in the Inspiration Contest, 12/15/2019
Top Finisher, #4 out of 1165 in the All Art Contest, 10/21/2019
Top Finisher, EXTRAORDINARY AND HIGHEST QUALITY, 9/29/2019

Featured:
1000 Views on 1 im...03/21/2022
Lyrical Trees group, 8/24/2019
Wildlife ONE A DAY...12/18/2019
FAA Portraits - Bi...10/23/2019
Square Art World...09/04/2019
Lyrical Trees Vibr...08/24/2019

Cypress swamps (also see cypress dome description below) are fairly common in the Southern States of the USA. They range in size from several acres to thousands of square miles. Some examples are the the 50 square mile Great Cypress Swamp of Delaware and Maryland, and the 7800 square miles of Everglades National Park in Florida. Many species of wildlife live in cypress swamps, along with many species of trees and plant life, including many air plants like spanish moss and colorful orchids.

A cypress dome is a type of freshwater forested wetland, or a swamp, found in the southeastern part of the United States. They are dominated by the Taxodium spp., either the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), or pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens). The name comes from the dome-like shape of treetops, formed by smaller trees growing on the edge where the water is shallow while taller trees grow at the center in deeper water. They usually appear as circular, but if the center is too deep, they can form a “doughnut” shape when viewed from above. Cypress domes are characteristically small compared to other swamps, however they can occur at a range of sizes, dependent on the depth.

Copyrighted in 2022 by Gary F Richards. All rights reserved.

Uploaded

July 30th, 2019