A special exhibit in Cody showcases watercolor paintings of the Green River. The British painter has spent the past 40 years going on journeys into wild places.
Tony Foster describes himself as someone who always loved painting. But it was when he combined his joy of hiking and painting that he found his calling.
“I was perfectly happy being on my own in the middle of absolutely nowhere for days at a time working on quite big landscape paintings,” Foster said. “And then adding all the other stuff…writing in my diaries and I discovered that it drew people into the work.”
For Foster, his work isn’t just the painting but the story of what happened during the journey. Under each watercolor, he includes souvenirs like a map or a rock and an entry from his diary.
His new exhibit at the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody focuses on his backpacking adventures on the Green River.
Foster hikes into the backcountry with his makeshift drawing board, paintbrushes, watercolor paper, and watercolors. Foster said he doesn’t have a specific spot to paint picked out.
“It takes a while to find the site for a big painting,” he said. “Because you need very particular things. But the first thing you really need is inspiration. I mean, you have to look at it and think, ‘Wow, I could really make a painting out of that. That's fantastic’.”
The exhibit has about 16 watercolor paintings of the Green River. Foster estimates that all in all he spent 30 days or more in the and around the river for this exhibit. Tony Foster: Watercolour Diaries from the Green Riveris open through October 22.
