Walking the Mangroves

Description

Broome Mangroves painting ‘Walking the Mangroves’ is an original acrylic artwork by Broome artist Suzanne Holland.

Artist’s description:

Broome mangroves  painting titled ‘Walking the Mangroves’, was inspired by a stroll through the mangroves, in front of the Mangrove Hotel, on a balmy Broome afternoon.

The walk leads you through twisted roots sucking and sifting the salty mud, unbrelled by 50 shades of green canopies and tracks deep into Broome’s living History.

You pass pools of briny water nursing tiny fish where old pearling boats once rested their weary timbers on low tides and men smelt of pearl shell and homesickness.

Older stories of pirate’s treasures, stolen pearls and people from different lands, creep quietly along in the shade.

Ancient stories of aboriginal hunting grounds rest in the shadows amongst the mud crabs and your imagination.

As we walked, our senses are heavily saturated with salt, birds, bats, crabs sucking mud and the stillness of ancient times and tides.

Our grandchildren were slurping their muddy feet well balanced between laughing and avoiding the mangrove spikes and red crab claws. It was echoing the voices of generations of children walking the mangroves and the cheekiness of little bats waking up and watching on.

Time blurred like the colours of the setting sun, glowing the tangled curves of twisted mangrove roots. The urge to capture the moment on canvas was as persuasive as the tide and as timeless as the salty children walking the mangroves.

Have you taken a walk in the Broome Mangroves?

The Broome mangroves offer a hidden ecosystem right on the doorstep of Chinatown. Mudcrabs, fish, birds, sea snakes, turtles and the odd crocodile can be found taking refuge from the hot sun on a low tide in the mangrove sytem.