...or at least that was the thought I had when I decided to begin this post. I know that there are lots of others out there with an interest in bird art...and nature art in general. Whether or not this blog has any widespread appeal to an audience of more than a handful though is up for debate in my mind right now. For now, I will keep plugging away with new posts from the giant artists of the past and present. My current painting projects have been railroaded by work, travel and preparations for recording and shooting in Arizona for three weeks...starting next wednesday. Here are some works from the master, another in what I'm sure will be a long series of posts dedicated to the works of Louis Agassiz Fuertes.
The Leafhopper is a painting that I loved from the first moment that I saw it in the Cornell digital Fuertes collection. It is a Scarlet and green leafhopper, although it always looks blue to me. In my past insect collecting days in central NY, I have found these beautiful hoppers commonly on sweeps through aster and goldenrod fields. Clearly the beautiful bug once caught Fuertes' eye as well.
The Kangaroo Rat is one of my favorites from his mammal work. After a completing a series of bird paintings for the National Geographic Society in 1913, Gilbert Grosvenor came back for more of Fuertes work. From 1915-1918 Fuertes toiled over a large and industrious commission of large mammals, small mammals and finally portraits of the breeds of Canus familiaris. Reportedly, Fuertes was skeptical about the quality of the final works. Unjustly so, I believe. Most of the mammals I have seen represent that same mastery of capturing a moment in the life of an animal that is so excellently represented in his bird work.
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