Swans have always been a popular choice of subject for artists, and they often feature in contemporary greeting card designs. The Goldcrest Gallery collection includes three different swan designs, both vintage and contemporary.
Mute Swan
‘Mute Swan‘ was created in the early 1970s as a preparatory sketch for a series of oil paintings. Drawn from life, the picture shows a riverside scene in winter. The artist has used black and white monochrome to capture the mood of cold grey skies, and windswept water. A lone mute swan spreads out his wings to defend his territory. Expressive brush strokes have been used economically to render the effect of soft white feathers, choppy water and looming clouds. The gouache paint has been thinned down to produce a watercolour effect. As a result, darker areas of the painting show the denser opacity of the gouache paint. This gives richness and depth to the shadows.
Flotilla
In complete contrast, ‘Flotilla‘, one of our newest designs, features a bevy of twelve mute swans against a background of stylised water. The repeated swan motif forms a decorative surface pattern, with a simple background of wavy lines in pink, purple and blue. Having peach-coloured bills, the swan motifs are silhouetted in white, and they appear to glide along in the water. This design is full of gentle movement, with undulating water and floating swans, even though the treatment of the subject is stylised.
Through the Window
Our beautiful vintage card, ‘Through the Window‘, has a very different treatment of swans. Created in the 1980s, the design features a cottage interior with decorative wallpaper and country-style furnishings. A central window opens out through transparent peach curtains onto a view with a lake. On the windowsill, a white china swan is depicted, filled with a posy of flowers. Beyond this swan ornament, a live swan glides serenely on a silvery-grey lake, reflected in the still surface of the water. Altogether, this is a painting of contrasts. The upholstered and decorative interior of the room is contrasted with the sunlit willow tree, lawns and lake outside. The motionless china swan indoors contrasts with the free wild bird in the landscape scenery. The two scenes are linked by the voile curtains. They are part of the interior room, but are lifted by a gentle breeze from the countryside beyond.
‘Through the Window’ and ‘Flotilla’ are available from Goldcrest Gallery as 5.5″ square cards. ‘Mute Swan’ is one of our A4 fine art prints. View our three different swan designs from three different generations of the Goldcrest Gallery family of artists!