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.
Deep into Twilight
By Thomas Swanston
Located in Bozeman, MT
Thomas Swanston was born 1956 in Annapolis Md., Naval Hospital. He graduated from Hobart & William Smith Colleges 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts, with studi...
Gold, Silver
$1,100
H 11.82 in W 11.82 in D 1.19 in
French Contemporary Animal Painting by Christine Pultz - Timore
By Christine Pultz
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic on canvas Christine Pultz is a French animal painter born in 1953 who lives & works in Pontault-Combault, France. Through her passion for painting animals, especially f...
Canvas, Acrylic
Dial M (For Moron) Penguin Book
Located in London, GB
A large unique painting by the celebrated Epi, featuring one of his famous phrases on a Penguin book. 2020 Acrylic on canvas. Measures 150 x 100 cm. Hand signed. At the heart of Ep...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,100
H 31.5 in W 63 in D 0.4 in
Magical Ecstasy Oil Painting on Canvas, Dreamlike Scene, 80x160 cm
Located in Bogotá, Bogotá
This horizontal painting on canvas contains several layers of color, with textures and transparencies, representing a dreamlike scene where fantastic animals and humans in yellow and...
Gold Leaf
$5,276
H 47.25 in W 59.06 in D 0.79 in
Double - Modern Expressive Minimalistic and Symbolic Painting, Large Format
Located in Salzburg, AT
Joanna Mrozowska Born in 1976 in Warsaw. Studied in the Department of Painting in the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw; she graduated with a Master’s degree in painting, with the cycle...
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
$2,000
H 25.6 in W 25.6 in D 1.19 in
Indonesian Contemporary Art by Kusbudiyanto - Barongan Dance
By Kusbudiyanto
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylik on canvas Barongan dance is a regional art form in Central Java. This barongan dance is very famous among the people, in this barongan dance it reflects the characteristics...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Ceci N'est Pas Un Penguin
Located in London, GB
A large, unique painting by the celebrated satirical artist, Epi, featuring one of his famous phrases on a Penguin book. 2024 Acrylic on canvas. 150 x 100 cm. Hand signed At the ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,200
H 19.69 in W 19.69 in D 1.58 in
Korean Art - Fantasy Jejuisland, Island Girl Story Chun-Ja Healing Garden
By Shin Seung-Hun
Located in Paris, IDF
Artwork framed - white & wooden frame Shin Seung-Hun is a South-Korean artist born in 1979 who lives & works in Jeju Island, Korea. He is considered by critics as the new Korean...
Canvas, Acrylic
$7,075
H 47.25 in W 47.25 in D 1.97 in
It would like to fly Philippe Jacq 21st Century Contemporary art painting comics
By Philippe Jacq
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic paint on canvas Hand-signed lower right by the artist Part of the current exhibition "On the way to the origins", Philippe Jacq's solo show at Claire Corcia Gallery, Paris
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,200
H 19.69 in W 23.63 in D 1.58 in
Korean Contemporary Art - Fantasy Jeju Island-Chun-Ja Self-Portrait
By Shin Seung-Hun
Located in Paris, IDF
Artwork framed - white & wooden frame Shin Seung-Hun is a South-Korean artist born in 1979 who lives & works in Jeju Island, Korea. He is considered b...
Canvas, Acrylic
$4,197
H 27.56 in W 39.38 in D 1.97 in
The haunted horse Mohammad Ariyaei 21st Century painting Iranian outsider art
By Mohammad Ariyaei
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic paint on paper Hand-signed lower right « Here the barbaric or savage ceremonies of New Guinea take on the air of Rio carnival. Here the vitality bursts and the colors dance ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$4,676
H 39.38 in W 27.56 in D 1.97 in
War of demons and mystics Mohammad Ariyaei Contemporary Iranian art painting
By Mohammad Ariyaei
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic painting on canvas Hand-signed lower left Unique work THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS OF MOHAMMAD ARIYAEI " Gentleness and oriental wisdom follow the supercharged bubbling to w...
Canvas, Acrylic
Chaos and its devolution
By Jenny Day
Located in New Orleans, LA
medium: acrylic, colored pencil, paint pen, Flashe, ink on canvas JENNY DAY is a painter who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She earned an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Arizona, a BFA in Painting from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz. Her exhibition record most recently includes the Phoenix Art Museum, Blue Star Art Museum, in San Antonio, TX, Arte Laguna in Venice, Italy, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Korea, and Elmhurst Museum in Chicago, IL. Day's work has been supported by an Elizabeth Greenshields Grant in 2018, Contemporary Forum Artist Grant from the Phoenix Art Museum in 2017, a Barron Purchase Award in 2016 and through participation at the Ucross Foundation, the Jentel Foundation, Playa Foundation For The Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Art Center, and the Armory Art Center. Jenny Day represented at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery. The artist says of her work... I walked in the Mohave desert. Listened to the bees as they hummed and sucked from yellow creosote flowers. I watched the desert blur by as I drove eighty-miles per hour on I-40. I couldn’t hear the bees. The Mohave backdropped a science-fiction film I watched from my couch...
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic, Color Pencil