Buffel Headed Duck American Green Winged Teal And Hooded Merganser 1922

Archibald Thorburn painted these ducks sometime before 1935, probably using watercolours. Imagine the artist, maybe outside by the lake, delicately dabbing his brush on paper, trying to capture the light on the water. I'm really drawn to the duck in the front with the crazy hairdo. It’s like he’s got this perfect white stripe, as if someone carefully painted it on. And then, you see the way Thorburn uses these soft blues and browns. They're not just colours; they create the whole mood, making you feel the quiet of the lake, the stillness of the morning. It's like he’s inviting us into this calm, watery world. I bet Thorburn spent a lot of time observing these ducks, noticing how they move, how the light changes on their feathers. He’s part of a long line of painters, like Audubon, obsessed with birds. Each artist learns from the last, adding their own little bit to the conversation. It's this ongoing exchange of ideas and ways of seeing that keeps painting alive.