Live oak trees are found everywhere in the south, usually, draped with Spanish moss. The trees are huge with long, long branches that sometimes droop to the ground. They are called "live oaks" because they cycle their new leaves all year long and never are bare.
Spanish moss was named after the first Spanish explorers who came to Louisiana and Florida. The Indians thought the moss looked like the beards of the explorers.
Basically, Spanish moss just needs somewhere to hang out, and live oak foliage leaches an especially high amount of the nutrients it needs. While excessive growths of Spanish moss can be problematic for unhealthy trees in high wind situations, in most cases healthy live oaks have extensive root structures that keep them in place during storms.
Spanish moss is great for wildlife. Birds use it for nesting material, and it provides shelter for creatures like bats and bugs, including a type of spider that’s been found nowhere else. Throughout history, humans have used it to stuff mattresses, as packing material and insulation, and even in the car seats of some of the first Fords. (This proved to be a problem when the red ants living in the Spanish moss made their presence known – they solved this problem in the future by boiling the moss first.)
So really, y’all, there’s no reason for southern nature and wildlife lovers not to like Spanish moss just as much as the stately tree that it hangs in.
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"Life is an onion and one peels it crying."--French proverb
Escapism. Defying time. Serenity and solace. Reliving treasured moments...the reasons I paint and make artwork. The creative acts are surely the most pleasant and yet difficult of all. Color and form are special friends. The challenge of perfecting artwork is monumental and exhilarating. This effort has grown to be both friend and family, which are the two most important aspects of my life. Judaica is my most challenging art...Hebrew and I don't always get along!
I'm mainly self-taught in art, relying on intuition, experimentation, benefiting from studying books, visiting museums, galleries and learning painting techniques from other artist friends/relatives. I've studied pastels with Clive Tyler, taken oils with Daniel Edmondson. My newest medium is painting on glass, inspired by an Italian master, bringing this art technique home and applying my own topics. My oils are mainly with palette knife.
This art style might be called "abstract realism", an oxymoron in its own right. Favorite contemporary artists include Cruciani, L Horowitz, Berberian, S Stork, C Tyler, D Edmondson.
"Life is short, use color!"
