2019
Blue – Canvasback
by Claude Thivierge
About the Painting
The environment of the artwork, “Blue,” was inspired by spring walks on the edge of the riverbanks near my home. The initial idea of the painting was to highlight the fascinating and amusing nuptial behaviour of Canvasback ducks. In their special way, several drakes “dance” for the female. One drake throws his head back towards his tail feathers, then brings it forward by making an almost dove cooing, while another stretches its neck to the maximum to be the most beautiful. It is a piece with a lot of movement and texture in a marriage of shades of blue, where the chestnut heads, stunning and streamlined, steal the show.
About the Artist
Claude Thivierge
Claude Thivierge is a multi-talented international artist. As a wildlife painter and illustrator, his talent is spread across all four corners of the globe. Many of his works have been published in books, encyclopedias and wildlife and bird museums in Canada (David Suzuki Foundation; Department of the Environment, Wildlife and Parks; Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages; Wild Nature; the Royal Canadian Mint) and abroad: United States (Discovery, National Geographic), Europe, China and Australia (Australian Geographic).
What distinguishes this artist’s paintings the most are the eyes that appear to “speak”: remarkable and bright eyes that determine the mood and emotion of the scenes. Canvases are marked with great tenderness, sometimes with a certain curiosity of the animal, an inquisitive, tender look, emphasizing, always, the personality of the subject. He pays great attention to ensuring that each animal is accurately painted.
His artistic vision embodies his deep respect for nature. Claude is part of an International Association of Artists (AFC) involved in the conservation of species and biodiversity.
Claude has been awarded many prizes for his magnificent work, including: Quebec Artist of the Year for Ducks Unlimited Canada; two-time winner of Wildlife Habitat Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp, and the Quebec Wildlife Foundation Stamp.
“Through my eyes, nature is wonderful and perfect. That’s why I paint with as much detail and realism as I can. I daub, I colour, I scribble hair and feathers wholeheartedly. Some would say that it is a monk’s labour and that it borderlines on madness! … and well they are right, but it is a controlled dementia to capture this perfection and to portray small pieces around me.”
www.claudethivierge.com
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