The spark behind this painting was the contrasting colors between the snow goose, which is almost pure white and the hazy layers of the darker background.  Unbelievably, snow geese migrate to the southern United States and Mexico where there is little to no snow.  Thus they seem to stick out like sore thumbs against the dark brown mud in fields where they feed during the winter.  How they stay white while traversing the often wet, sticky mud is uncanny.  The snow goose is proof that we can stand above the mire.