ARTIST: Don Balke (North Carolina, born 1933)
TITLE: Bird - Black Oystercatcher
YEAR: 1985
MEDIUM: watercolor and gouache on board
CONDITION: Very good.
ART SIZE: 12 x 12 inches / 30 x 30 cm
BOARD SIZE: 19 x 21 inches / 48 x 53 cm
SIGNATURE: lower left
NOTE: This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood commemorative cover for Balke's Shorebirds of the 50 States, cancelled February 14, 1986. Frequently found amid the surf-hammered rocks and reefs of the Pacific coast, the somberly plumed Black Oystercatcher feasts on a variety of shellfish. The all black or dark brown bird is yellow-eyed, with pink legs and feet, and it is slower and more tame than its cousin the American Oystercatcher. Like the American, the Black Oystercatcher uses its sharp, bright red bill to feed on crustaceans, which cling to the rock surfaces. Sluggish in flight and stilted in gait, the Black Oystercatcher reacts to danger by squatting in a depression and emitting a piercing whistle, especially when intruders approach its nest. The nest is built in a gravelly hollow above the tide line of the beachhead or along the reef. Both parents attend the brown-speckled buffy eggs during incubation. The downy brown chicks can run well just three days after hatching, catch insects after five days, and can both fly and use their dusky bills to pry limpets from the rock before the end of their first month. Non-migratory, the Black Oystercatcher seldom wanders more than 30 miles from its nesting place on the mainland, however it is sometimes found on the rocky islets off the coast. The Black Oystercatcher is also a sociable bird, often peacefully feeding on the same rocky shores as turnstones, sandpipers and American Oystercatchers. The Black Oysetercatcher is sometimes called "redbill" by commercial fishermen.
PROVENANCE: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
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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.