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Watermarks: Watercolour Diaries - from Swamps to Icebergs

Tony Foster's exhibition, WaterMarks, features water in all its manifestations. A 42 page fully illustrated catalogue is available - contact Gerald Peters Gallery to purchase a copy.

Since 1982 Tony Foster has created a series of 'watercolour diaries' in the world's great wildernesses, travelling mostly on foot or by canoe or raft. Between 1999 and 2003 he  concentrated on representing water in all its forms. His exhibition, WaterMarks, Watercolour Diaries from Swamps to Icebergs is the fulfilment of this endeavour.

Tony has made river journeys on the Plátano River, Honduras, The Colorado through the Grand Canyon (the entire series of sixteen watercolour diaries has already been purchased by Denver Art Museum for its Western Art Collection) and the Suwannee from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico. He has also been to Greenland to paint icebergs and to the Hoh River on the Olympic Peninsular. In 2002 Tony rafted the entire length of the Salmon River, Idaho, (400 miles), to Yellowstone to paint the Geysers and to Guyana to paint Kaeiteur Falls. WaterMarks also is showing water paintings from Cornwall - including seascapes and Tywardreath Marsh, 500 metres from Tony's home. For this exhibition Tony even worked underwater in the Maldives, in order to make his paintings of coral reefs.

Read full artist's statement

Each picture has a handwritten diary entry about Tony's experiences while painting. For example:

"Day 1 · Kingfisher Landing to Maul Hammock with MB · 12 miles through scrub – shrub, prairie + and small lily filled lakes · no solid ground all day · we eat in the canoe & sleep on a wooden platform 12" above the water"

"Day 2 · Maul Hammock to Big Water · 11 miles through prairie, narrow closed channels + wide river channels between swamp cypress · as I paint 2 dark dragon flies land in my canoe stuck together & quivering in ecstasy · 6 alligators, the largest 12'"

"Day 3 · Big Water to Stephen Foster State Park · 9 miles through prairie, swamp, cypress forest · lakes · the first land for 30 miles at Billys Island · as I sit painting a slim grey / red fox runs daintily around me its nose to the ground · intent upon its own business · it pauses, runs forward, stops, jinks sideways, resumes its course · ignoring me completely · all its senses are finely tuned, each hair bristling and alert, yet it doesn't notice me"

Displaying 1-8 of 51 paintings
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Displaying 1-8 of 51 paintings
Show all