Afternoon at Ashepoo on Bennet's Point Road 9 X 12"

As one leaves Charleston county on Highway 17 south, entering adjacent Colleton County, crossing the Edisto River bridge at Jacksonboro, then crossing the bridge spanning the Ashepoo River, a curious nature adventurer should come upon a left turn accessing Bennets Point Road . This 2 lane road ,which eventually ends near the confluence of a portion of the intercoastal water way, linking the South Edisto to the Ashepoo and finally St Helena's Sound. Bennet's Point Road passes by ancient and beautiful old plantation acreage such as "Means", Lavington" and "Airy Hall" which were very productive in the cultivation of "Carolina Gold" in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries until the Civil War. Following the war,  susequent severe poverty, and devastating hurricanes destroyed these large farming areas, leaving remnants of the old rice field basins, trunks, and water management technologies of those centuries allowing them to return somewhat to their natural ways. Gone are the huge cypress acres that were timbered to make way for the rice and gone are many of the animal species that interfered with rice production and harvest (such as the Carolina Parrot that fed on the maturing rice seed); nevertheless, many of the botanical and zoological species have survived.

This painting, a 9 X 12" acrylic on stretched canvas weighing 7 oz shows an orange sky sunset, reflecting off an old rice field in late summer.