Meet Artist of the Quarter Joan Sears Joan Sears is an award-winning artist in oil, watercolor, and acrylics. She enjoys working in a still broader variety of media, as well as studying native history, traditional arts and crafts. Joan draws inspiration from the vast and varied natural scenery and wildlife of Hyde County. There are no cities, but farming and fishing villages, and wildlife properties, are prolific: Lake Mattamuskeet, Ocracoke Island, Pungo Lake, Gull Rock, Middletown, Rose Bay, Swan Quarter and Engelhard where she lives. www.hydecountyart.com
Cypress Swamp
Cypress Swamp is a recollection of an early fall morning on one of the many canals leading into Lake Mattamuskeet. This was opening day of the specially permitted Refuge Hunt and all was very quiet as the game had sought their hiding places.
Oystermen Joan recounts her inspiration for this piece: “With years of boat shop experience, I happened across a few of these old sailing skiffs. I never oystered out of one, but the next best thing was putting the old vessels back to work in a painting. One fisherman is culling oysters at the cull tray while the other works the tongs from the back of the boat.”