“If elegance is a word which can be applied to a duck, then the pintail would top the list. The long neck, well-proportioned head, slender tail with quiet but crisp colours all blend in a dynamic yet refined whole. Even the female, although coloured like the mallard hen, has a graceful, pintail proportion.
“I associate pintails with very pleasant times in my life. Each spring I try to visit one of the migration staging areas for waterfowl. In addition to the excitement of the ducks, geese and swans, there are the first smells of spring and the songs of the perching birds and frogs. In summer, I associate pintails with the rich sights, sounds and scents of the marsh. And in the fall, I picture blue skies, bright clouds and strong winds with pintail flights moving south.
“This painting depicts a pair in early spring. The new, green shoots of the marsh have yet to show themselves. I was interested in the vertical patterns made by last year's cattails and their reflections and the way that they relate to the elegant form of the ducks.”