ARTIST: Don Balke (North Carolina, born 1933)
NAME: Snow Goose
YEAR: 1983
MEDIUM: gouache on board
CONDITION: Excellent.
SIGHT SIZE: 9 x 11 inches / 22 x 27 cm
BOARD SIZE: 18 x 20 inches / 45 x 50 cm
SIGNATURE: lower right
NOTE: This painting is the original painting which appeared on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for the Waterbirds of the 50 States South Dakota/Snow Goose. Sitting on the water with its wing tips hidden, a Snow Goose may be confused with a swan. But the Snow Goose's neck is distinctly shorter. Both males and females of the Snow Goose are very handsome birds with glistening white plumage. These beautiful waterbirds wear a black "grinning patch," a broad band along the mandibles that seems to give the birds a leering expression. In Spring, these elegant birds fly north in V's and ragged, sweeping curves from the main wintering grounds in California. They are indeed a beautiful spectacle of gleaming white bodies and black-tipped wings as they fly. On their way to their breeding grounds -- the arctic shores of Alaska and Canada -- they will make a stopover in South Dakota. They announce their coming with a resonant, melodious honking. Since the Snow Geese are very pretty, they are welcome visitors to South Dakota. On their summer grounds, they nest in colonies in a depression filled with mosses and lined with grasses. The nesting season of Snow Geese takes about twenty-five days. As the female patiently incubates her eggs, the male will stand guard close by. By the time the young are capable of flying a long distance, the Snow Geese will form migratory flocks and head south to their winter home. When they migrate, they fly very high. Sometimes they utter shrill falsetto notes and occasional softened honks as they make their journey.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
CATEGORY: antique vintage painting
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SKU#: 120053
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BIOGRAPHY:
Balke, the youngest of ten children, grew up on a farm in northern backcountry of Wisconsin. His family was completely dependent on the land; they tapped trees to make maple syrup; used crosscut saws for logging and horses for their farmwork; they raised crops for themselves and as income. His upbringing instilled in him a love of nature and wildlife. He received his first art award in a Wisconsin state-sponsored art contest while at elementary school for a painting of a black bear roaming in the woods. After serving in the US Army, he married Barbara Schernick[citation needed] and they moved to Chicago where he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, now known as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During his time at the Academy, he specialized in still-life paintings. After graduating, he was hired by a Chicago illustrating studio and eventually moved back to Wisconsin where he worked as a commercial art director. He won many awards for his work as an art director and illustrator. On his own time, late in the night, he painted and developed his skills as a wildlife artist. After 17 years, he left his work as an art director to devote himself completely to watercolors and wildlife art. By 1979, they had six children and a home in the village of Thiensville, Wisconsin. Balke's love of nature took him to the NC mountains where he bought 200 acres in McDowell County and built a home. In 1985, a gallery was added and the Don Balke Wildlife Gallery was opened. In 1987, his work was chosen as the illustration for the official NC Zoo poster. In 1992, the United States Post Office issued a series of first-class postage stamps portraying five different species of hummingbirds designed by Balke. Balke travels to Africa, Australia, Ireland, the Caribbean, and across the 50 United States for inspiration and research. His wife, Barbara Schernick Balke, does extensive research on the animals and their habitats in preparation for the paintings and does much of the photography on research trips. He is best known for his detailed and realistic watercolor paintings portraying wildlife in their natural environment. In 2000, he transitioned to a more impressionistic style with oils portraying scenes from Yosemite National Park in California, Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, and Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.