The Sun Spire landscape, waterfront, impressionism
The inspiration for this painting was a brief glimpse of the brilliant orange spire of reflected light created by the sun setting over the Fox River.
For years the Fox river has been abused by human activity. In the 1990's the river was declared a super fund site, so heavily polluted that it has been undergoing dredging treatment for the past 16 years. Slowly, slowly the river is recovering. Yet, at the same time that the water quality is improving, every walk down the river walk pathway reveals another condominium development, another cleared shoreline and more human intrusion. I find myself grieving for what once was.
Historically ,this was a fertile and vibrant natural waterway. The Voyageurs found fish, wild rice in the bay of Green Bay, thousands of migratory birds and countless fur bearing animals. Now, as in many urban areas, the river is also home to coal piles, cement plants and industrial and agricultural runoff.
We struggle to keep our wild spaces. We try to "fix" our grave mistakes. What we need to do is to stop and consider that undeveloped natural spaces are of more importance than another cluster of densely populated homes along the river's banks.
When we walk along the fox river we may startle red-wings and a family of mallards out of the brush. We may see eagles fishing the warm and turbulent waters below the De Pere dam. We often see families catching and keeping large numbers of catfish. During the walleye run in spring, the river is packed with fisherman who catch and release the spawning fish. Our river a tremendous resource. One that needs a fresh eye to find it's beauty and a fresh approach to save her.
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