Cache Slough

Byron McClintock

Bright green and bone white are the dominant hues of Byron McClintock’s color mezzotint depicting the Cache Slough Complex, an important intersection of tidal wetland and agricultural land located on the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta in northern California. As with much of McClintock’s work, he outlines the main ecological features of this semi-wild region as if from a bird’s eye view, abstracting the scene but remaining true to its natural beauty.

Pieces of turquoise blue and burnt orange suggest the reflection of summery skies and the ever-changing foliage of deciduous trees that line the branches of the delta, while swaths of moss green represent the verdant spring growth of grassland that spreads and recedes with the tide. If one were to visit this stretch of land, there would be found an impressive array of birdlife from black-crowned night herons to waterfowl, and numerous songbirds, lending a peacefulness to the grassy plain.