Lake Powell Pelicans

BERNARD MARKS WROTE OF HIS INTRIGUING WATERCOLOR “LAKE POWELL PELICANS”:

This painting, “Lake Powell Pelicans,” holds a lot of emotional resonance for me. It’s one of the first pieces that I made on the initial trip that Martha and I made around the southwest. You can see in the painting that the water level was low even then, in the early ’00s. Unfortunately, as I write this, the level is even lower and not likely to improve anytime soon.

But even with that, there was this great flock of water birds in that body of water. Pelicans are fun to watch and fun to paint. I was surprised to see so many of them in this spot, but I took full advantage of their presence to make a painting that still intrigues me.

The American White Pelican may be thought of as a coastal bird, but they are often seen at certain times of the year in the lakes and rivers of the western and southwestern United States. Seeing a flock of them take flight from Lake Powell, which straddles the border between Utah and Arizona, led me to make “Lake Powell Pelicans.”

MARTHA MARKS ADDS THIS COMMENT:

Bernie loved this painting. It was one of his all-time favorites… even before the following occurred:

In September 2019 — at least fifteen years after our original visit to Lake Powell, which resulted in “Lake Powell Pelicans” — the National Park Service issued Bernie a personal invitation to return to this spot to serve as “Artist in Residence” at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Powell. Bernie was 80 at that time, but he accepted the invitation and happily spent two wonderful weeks painting this area again. He considered it one of the highlights of his artistic life.

This original painting is available for purchase, as are large, top-quality, custom-made giclée prints.

Medium: watercolor
Unframed, ready to be matted and framed
Size: 21″ x 28.5″
Price: $2,600, including all applicable taxes

TO PLACE AN ORDER…

Choose a link below for the painting or print of your choice. (Prices include all applicable taxes. If shipping is needed, that additional cost will depend on the distance from Santa Fe and the price of packaging.)

1. ORIGINAL PAINTING: $2,600

2. TOP-QUALITY GICLEE PRINT ON THICK ARCHIVAL PAPER, same size as the original: $650

Contact Martha Marks if you’d prefer a different size print.

Return to the UTAH page of the Watercolor Landscapes section.