Snipe line the shore of snow capped islands. Static, intersecting bills divide the space, angled against the mottled plumage of one another. Slender green tinged legs end in a splay of tendril toes, rooted to the cold mud. The pattern repeats along the shore line, and in reverse as reflections in motionless water; turgid, clotting, on the turn as the temperature fluctuates around zero. As I draw the seemingly static motif, the cunning, shape-shifting snipe come to life, switching and swapping at every drop of the eye to take up new statuesque postures. In detail, I appreciate the maze of striation, barring and swirling plumage that for once stand out against the clean white backdrop.
