|
FROM THE ARTIST:
This painting was the result
of a chance sighting I had of some swans while out with my husband one day.
We were taking pictures of a Blue heron at a tidal marsh. Wh ile my husband
was busy with the camera, a group of trumpeter swans swam by in front of us,
one after the other, in a line. With the back light, reflections, and snow
covered bank behind, it was a beautiful scene. I immediately imagined this
scene as a painting – in a long, horizontal format, with part of the snow
bank along the top. My husband swung the camera around and got some quick
shots of the swans as they swam by. At first, I intended to include only
two swans, but after trying them in different positions, ended up preferring
an arrangement of three. By chance, the rust colours in the water were
repeated in the heads and necks of the birds. I realized that there was an
interesting transition where the rust on the necks changed to white and,
behind, the ice and white reflections along the bank graduated to brown. In
composing the picture I lined this transition up so that the heads would
stand out over the white. The most challenging area to paint, apart from the
rippled water, was where the snow, the white reflections and the ice flows
merged, white against white. Since this painting had many ‘whites’ in it –
including the swans – this became my inspiration for the title. After
completing this painting, I was thrilled when it was chosen by Ducks
Unlimited Canada for their 2008 Artist of the Year print. It has been made
into a limited edition of 5000 prints which will help raise money for
wetland conservation.
Heather
Soos |
