Naturalist John James Audubon has a major influence on Walton Ford's works, though if Audubon would have appreciated the way he influenced Ford's pieces is another matter entirely.
Ford mainly works with watercolors applied to rather large canvases. In fact, it is his desire to make the largest watercolor paintings ever. He also does printmaking.
Many of Ford's paintings are in likeness of the paintings in Audubon's book The Birds of America, except that Ford's pieces have birds killing other birds. This was supposed to symbolize how Audubon ultimately killed many of the animals he tried to depict. Symbolism appears quite often in Ford's works as he tries to incorporate both natural history and politics in his pieces.
Ford's paintings are realistic in nature with bright, saturated colors. Animals are the predominant subject matter in most of his works. As said before, Ford's paintings are very similar to Audubon's. He even uses the same techniques as Audubon. Although very alike, Ford brings his own flare and taste to his works that make them distinctly his.
Information provided by:
"Walton Ford." Art21. PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Feb 2014.
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