Painter Thomas Swanston captures the life-changing experience of observing a natural migration. When the Atlanta-based painter witnessed flocks of birds in the sky over his farm one day, he became fascinated with Sandhill cranes, an interest which would change the trajectory of his art.
Swanston began annual trips to the Central Platte River Valley in Nebraska to photograph and observe the over 600,000 birds that migrate through the area. Swanston witnessed how the birds’ travels are rhythmic, with a pattern of departure and return, and are part of the natural flow of the planet.
Drawing on these first-hand experiences, he depicts the cranes through a host of media and techniques. He uses materials ranging from gold leaf, silver and pewter to oxidized copper, palladium and gouache. The gilding allows his paintings to change according to the light.
A 1978 graduate from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Swanston complemented his Bachelor of Arts degree with studies at the New York Studio School. After enrolling in 1980, he became one of the first to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Parsons School of Design and met his wife and fellow artist, Gail Foster. Together, they now run their own art center, StudioSwan.
Swanston later attended AIR Serenbe, a nonprofit that connects individuals to nature. He played a major role in founding its art program, which continues to support artists today.
Swanston has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group shows. His art is in private collections around the world, including Ritz-Carlton hotels in the United Arab Emirates, Japan and China and Four Seasons hotels in California, Wyoming and Morocco.
Swanston and his wife continue to share their passions for art and nature from their studios in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Thomas Swanston’s paintings and mixed media.
Up in Blue
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
It is a tall, vertical painting. The mixed media is composed of oil paint and gold leaf with smaller silver leaf birds at the bottom of the composition. The bird silhouettes look lik...
Gold Leaf
$8,500
H 40 in W 60 in D 1.5 in
Horses Painting BOHO Heavy Textured on Canvas 40x60" Love Between Horses
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Love Between Horses Couple Painting One of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Artwork: Original abstract mixed media work on canvas, which combines new media - digital original hand pain...
Canvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media
$187
H 7.29 in W 7.29 in D 1.19 in
Little Kingfisher, Over The Moon, Birds, Animal art, Nature, Gold leaf, Metallic
By Anya Simmons
Located in Deddington, GB
New Series - Over The Moon with Little British Birds. We are so blessed with such a variety of beautiful garden bird species within the UK. I feel inspired and 'Over The Moon' with ...
Gold Leaf
$187
H 7.29 in W 7.29 in D 1.19 in
Robin Love 4, Over The Moon, Birds, Animal art, Nature, Gold leaf, Metallic art
By Anya Simmons
Located in Deddington, GB
New Series - Over The Moon with Little British Birds. We are so blessed with such a variety of beautiful garden bird species within the UK. I feel inspired and 'Over The Moon' with ...
Gold Leaf
$2,800
H 48 in W 36 in
Horns - Original Abstract Animal Cow Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on Canvas
By Kellie Newsome
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Columbus, Georgia-based artist Kellie Newsome specializes in dynamic and expressive animal portraits that radiate vitality and personality. Her unique style combines abstracted forms...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Canvas
"Cheek by Jowl" Abstracted Bird Silhouette with Embroidery
By Kelly Kozma
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Cheek by Jowl" is an original 20in x 20in painting on canvas by Kelly Kozma featuring black birds against a blue and white background with mixed media elements. This piece has the ...
Canvas, Latex, Mixed Media
$1,325
H 30 in W 24 in
Big Hats and Cocktails - Expressive Abstract Animal Horse Painting on Canvas
By Kellie Newsome
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Columbus, Georgia-based artist Kellie Newsome specializes in dynamic and expressive animal portraits that radiate vitality and personality. Her unique style combines abstracted forms...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$187
H 7.29 in W 7.29 in D 1.19 in
Little Blue Tit 4, Over The Moon, Birds, Animal art, Nature, Gold leaf, Metallic
By Anya Simmons
Located in Deddington, GB
New Series - Over The Moon with Little British Birds. We are so blessed with such a variety of beautiful garden bird species within the UK. I feel inspired and 'Over The Moon' with ...
Gold Leaf
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 48 in W 36 in
"Golden Pheasant in the Garden of Wishes"-Colorful Hyperrealist Acrylic Painting
Located in West Hollywood, CA
This vertical 48 inch high by 36 inch wide original painting on canvas is wired and ready to hang. It does not require framing. It is signed and dated by the artist on the front of the artwork. Bonasi says of her work, "In the bird series I have regained my child. With a bright color palette I experience that joy and place of safety, that state of not knowing. I examine and interpret my references loosely with no set composition in mind. Drawing right onto the canvas like a child, I build an imaginative truth that cushions me from the world. The birds cover me with their feathers and I am a hatchling in the nest of my own making." Jodi Bonassi has been actively exhibiting since 1994. She has had solo exhibitions at California State University Northridge, Coagula Curatorial, and other venues including a 2018 retrospective at The Museum of the San Fernando Valley...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$187
H 7.29 in W 7.29 in D 1.19 in
Little Wren 4, Over The Moon, Bird, Nature, Animals, Gold
By Anya Simmons
Located in Deddington, GB
New Series - Over The Moon with Little British Birds. We are so blessed with such a variety of beautiful garden bird species within the UK. I feel inspired and 'Over The Moon' with j...
Gold Leaf
Adorable Ally
By Fredi Gertsch
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Swiss artist Fredi Gertsch creates lively colorful pop-folk art paintings with one inexhaustible element: the Emmentaler cow. Humor and optimism are essential traits of the artist: "...
Canvas, Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pastel
$5,900
H 57 in W 71 in D 2.5 in
Dinner Date, acrylic painting depicting blue lizards, nasturtium, dry grass
By Ben Darby
Located in San Diego, CA
Dinner Date was conceived during a nature walk along the Balboa Park area of San Diego, specifically underneath a bridge leading to the park. This day, Ben...
Textile, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
$8,500
H 40 in W 60 in D 1.5 in
Blue Sky Horse White Horse Mixed Media on Canvas Irena Orlov
By Irena Orlov
Located in Los Angeles, CA
One of a kind Mixed Medium on Canvas Artwork: Original abstract mixed media work on canvas, which combines new media - digital original hand painting, printed on canvas, then hand painted with acrylic, 3D painting, ink, acrylic gels, texturing mediums, Stucco, crackle paste and varnishes over-painting. This body of work focuses on a combination of texture, color, and composition. Each piece is manipulated with a unique surface finish of textures. Irena Orlov...
Canvas, Varnish, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media
Going to the Edge of the World Again
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
This painting is rich in texture. Golden, rusted and silver geese fly along the gritty blue, turquoise sky. Deep cerulean blue tree tops stand in the foreground. Thomas Swanston was...
Mixed Media
Coming In
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
This is a square painting with a stunning sunset on it. The sky starts as a deep blue and fades into yellows, oranges, and pinks until the sky touches a purple mountain range. Geese ...
Mixed Media
Sweet Morning Light
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
It is a tall, vertical painting. The painting's medium is acrylic paint and silver leaf on linen. The birds' silver silhouettes fly across the dream acrylic background. Thomas Swans...
Silver
Through and above Farmland I & II
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
This is a diptych painting. The painting's composition is birds flying across the two panels on a a blue-gray background. You can see faint traces of gold underneath the oil paint. T...
Silver, Gold Leaf