Alexander Zastera
The Swamp Lovers, 2021-2023
Mixed media on Canvas
8’ x 10’
The painting centers on the artist meditating, while a dragon and white heron act to battle a green dragon clutching the figure's heart and is being pierced with an arrow. "The Swamp Lovers" is a painting rendering an amalgamation of scenes of people the artist has camped, hiked, and experienced the Everglades, a two million acre wetland in South Florida. The scenes around the central figure cluster in picnics, tents, and a the ater in the Pine Rock lands, where the figures interact with each other and the multitude of animals. The process of making the painting included many trips into the South Florida landscape inviting people from many different backgrounds to share a love of place together.