Watercolor exhibit celebrates turtles

Watercolorist Brian Gordy has a hard time picking a favorite turtle species of all that he has seen in his life.

But, if forced, he would have to choose the map turtle.   

“The map turtle is the one you’ll see the most of in my paintings,” Gordy said. “I love the variety and the sort of primordial design of the shell. It’s almost like the Japanese samurai helmets: very decorative and knobby.”

Gordy, a watercolorist for the past 33 years, makes nature his subject.

He has focused almost exclusively on turtles since the early 1990s, based largely on an experience he had while canoeing the White River near Muncie.    

His paintings are currently on display at the Wandering Turtle Art Gallery in its exhibition “Basking: Reflections on the Turtle,” which celebrates the gallery’s namesake animal.

“The turtles had been something that I was saving up,” Gordy said. “I just happened to notice turtles when I was canoeing, and they seemed to have a really healthy population. They were odd and gorgeous and assembled themselves in ways that seemed very rhythmic and artistic.”

Gordy said he considers himself an environmentalist and said he hopes that his paintings not only pay homage to the turtle, but also that they warn against unnecessary environmental destruction and degradation.

His study of turtles has led to his becoming an accidental expert on the subject, and he regularly fields questions not just on his paintings, but on turtles themselves.  

Gordy’s daughter introduced him to the Wandering Turtle while she was studying at IU.  

“She happened to visit the gallery and called me up and said, ‘Dad, you have to go see this gallery,’” Gordy said.  

He contacted gallery owner Jaime Sweany, who said he believes his work fit the theme of the Wandering Turtle. She began by carrying prints of earlier turtle paintings, and in May she turned over her gallery space for Gordy to display his original paintings.

Both Gordy and Sweany consider the exhibit a success and note the positive community response to the paintings.

“It has been excellent,” Sweany said. “I have always wanted to do a show focusing on turtle art, and have been very, very happy to have found Brian Gordy.”

Sales clerk Ryan Dagley also noted the positive feedback from the community.

“We have definitely got a lot of ‘whoas’ from people who see the paintings,” Dagley said.