This was originally called Albert’s Swan after Albert Machler, the photographer of the swan, whom I met this past June while visiting St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Lake Como with my girlfriend “Aunt”Christana . Upon seeing this photo, I asked immediately if I had permission to paint it and one other, which I have not started yet.
I finished the painting after great difficulty (finding time and technical challenges) shortly before the passing of Alyson Hieber (1986 – 2009) a friend of our oldest daughter. I awoke one morning and knew the swan painting was to be dedicated to Alyson representing all of those beautiful young women who are struggling to find themselves during these troubled times of eating disorders and addictions.
This painting was very challenging as I had decided that many of the “white” color areas of the painting would be the actual watercolor paper. The shadows of the feathers are achieved by a method called “hard lines”, however keeping those lines in the right place is an eye-straining challenge. I hope you enjoy viewing Alyson’s Swan as much as I enjoyed painting it!
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