paintings of alligators

First, the oil painting, then the story behind it… make sure you don’t miss the Trapper John video I filmed from the safety of inside my house!

Watch me paint this Gator art in under 2 minutes (time lapse)

“We get gators in the lagoon behind our house. Trapper John came out and removed a big alligator using a pole, his bare hands, and duct tape. I watched the adventure from inside the house, through the glass patio doors. When the gator was safely bound and loaded onto the back of his truck, I went outside and asked if it was OK to take pictures. Trapper John moved the gator so that I could get a good shot. The gator’s tail felt like an underinflated tire- rubbery, squishy, and oddly soft.
The police officer on the scene said- after I touched the gator- that he was surprised the alligator was being so docile. The officer was amused by my photo shoot. He said, “Welcome to Georgia.”
Besides gators, we also have snakes. There was a small one inside our house, which gave me a phobia of lying on the floor. No more yoga for me! There was a large one outside our house, which gave me a phobia of mowing the lawn. Now I wear boots or ask my husband to do it. One day I was filming a cute little toad and my husband pranked me by pretending to see a snake. He laughed about that for entirely too long. Well, a few weeks later, he came in from mowing with a sheepish look on his face. He thought I’d seen him jump a mile when he saw a snake in the grass. No, I’d missed that, but I can imagine it and it’s a safe bet that I’ll have another opportunity to see it.”

– from the book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas

Update to the above story…

I bought my husband some cowboy boots for Christmas!

Watch Trapper John remove an alligator from the lagoon behind our house! (I’m filming this from a safe distance)

He looks like he’s being arrested… hopefully before he’s committed any crimes. A woman was recently killed by an alligator. It’s rare that humans are attacked, but small dogs are sometimes victims. Best to remove alligators that wander into populated areas! There is a wildlife preserve just a few miles from here. The gators roam safely and freely there.

See previous post for more backyard art: Painting Reptiles and Amphibians

I hope you’re enjoying my new blog series, “Stories that Inspire my Art”. There are many, many more stories to tell! I’ll post these daily, but if you prefer not to check back to see if there’s something new, please subscribe to my blog to be notified when there’s a new blog post ready.