Scrambled Shrimp

     Living in Fairhope really has it's small town advantages. Take for example the market held next to the library for several weeks on Thursdays. These markets occur before the heat of summer takes your breath away when you walk out the door. They push the limits of the heat and humidity with flowers, fresh vegetables, honey, plants, breads, home made items and of course, Shrimp! These gentleman had large ziplock bags on ice of these beautiful bounties from the sea. I simply could not resist bringing them home and making them dinner! (Of course, I photographed them first!)

      I would love to be a part of a shrimping expedition, just to see the bounty of harvest spill forth onto the decks. After watching Big Shrimping, my husband and I realized we had an extended coversation with the gentleman that owns these beautiful boats. It was right after the BP Oil Spill and he was visiting with family on Dauphin Island at the campground. During the course of a lazy evening, he voiced his concern about the oil reaching the upper parts of the Gulf. Little did we know that first weekend in May 2010 that his fears would be realized later that summer. Not only were his fears realized, but we had tangible proof of the scope of the disaster when leaving the island that Sunday. There were several boats, trailers, and various pieces of equipment for the use of clean up. The booms had not arrived yet, as they were in short supply at that time. The sight of this equipment reduced me to tears but I had show to go and conduct on the Island. The show went well enough, of course all the talk was of the spill and the environmental impact it would have on the Island and our coastline. During the show I also had a woman tearfully purchase one of my prints of Horn Island after she told me they found about 2 dozen turtles washed up on shore. It was a hard show to get through because my work encompasses everything about the sea. Two years down the road, we still don't know the complete impact of the oil and the dispersants. Time will only tell.........................

Scrambled Shrimp 20 x 20 Acrylic on canvas