Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Falling Bough, by Walton Ford (2002)

Watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper,
60 3/4 x 119 1/2 inches

Walton Ford images on Google

Walton Ford creates large-scale watercolor paintings that build upon the history of Audubon wildlife illustration. However, Ford's portrayals of nature are not simply taxidermic - something to be safely observed under glass or in a biology textbook. In his work, nature turns on us - it unleashes it's chaotic energy in an often disturbing violence. It resists containment and classification even as it uses the tools of classification in its depiction (many of his works have a small script at the bottom identifying the species being portrayed).

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I have no idea why, but the first thing that came to mind when I looked at this piece was "The Secret of Nim". Maybe it is the colors or perhaps its the birds...Likey, it is because I am wierd like that.

tim said...

Do you mean "The Secret of Nymh?" That old animated film? That was a good one - but the connection could be that it was also a rather "dark" film involving some pretty violent animals. Plus, it had a man vs. nature theme (giant tractors rumbling through the cute little animal homes) - and Ford's paintings (not so much this one) have a man vs. nature motif.

Martin Cotterill said...

HI THERE,

I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I THINK THIS PAINTING IS TRUELY AMAZING AND SO ICONIC OF THIS BEAUTIFUL BUT VANISHED SPECIES. MY QUESTION IS THIS, HAS ANYONE THOUGHT OF REPRODUCING THIS PAINTING AS A LIMITED EDITION PRINT BUT OBVIOUSLY IN A MUCH SMALLER FORMAT.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

MARTIN COTTERILL