Life around trash

There is a place outside of Jakarta where houses were built on stilts above water.  The houses were made of wood and lined the slough that connects to the ocean.  It was a fishing village where the boats were colored bright yellow, green, blue, and red. The birds were abundant but so was the trash that lined the slough.  Most of the trash comes in from the ocean from Jakarta's neighborhoods and since the slough was a dead end, it accumulates.  Beautiful herons were hunting from the floating pile of plastic.  Fishermen were fixing their nets and their boats and kids were swimming in the filthy waters.  It was a mix of beauty (birds) and sadness (filth) but also full of life.  There was this old fisherman who gave me a smile and went on with his business of fixing his boat and his net.  Life has to go on. "The fisherman", gouache on 14"x20" cold-pressed paper.