Redwings Eating c. 1960

Walter Anderson made this watercolor, Redwings Eating, on paper, and the thing I notice right away is how alive it feels. The marks aren’t fussy, they're these quick, wet gestures that capture the energy of the birds in their messy, eating moment. The way Anderson lays down the color is interesting, it's like he’s building up the forms with layers of transparent washes, letting the white of the paper peek through. You can almost feel the water in the brushstrokes, the way the colors bleed and blend into each other. The purple and blue tones give a shadowy feel to the birds' feathers. Notice the red dashes on the wings, they are just a few strokes, but they bring the whole painting to life. This piece reminds me of John James Audubon’s bird illustrations, but looser, more expressive, as if Anderson is trying to capture not just what the birds look like, but what it feels like to be in the middle of their feeding frenzy. It’s not about perfection, but about the messy, beautiful reality of life.