I painted Clyde Butcher emerging from the darkness of the Everglades swamps, bringing light on what was previously feared and reviled. His enormous, highly detailed black and white photographic images bring the beauty and complexity of these sub-tropical wetlands to the attention of the public. His images are pure love. He is revered throughout Florida and throughout the world conservation community, so I wanted to show him as the powerful but warm individual he is. I only suggested the swamp surrounding him to focus on Clyde himself.
