Brian Gordy

A painter of watercolors for more than 40 years, Brian Gordy’s most recent obsession focuses on the basking habits of freshwater turtles. Floating down a river one morning in Indiana, he describes his first encounter with a basking map turtle:

“Against the murky water and the tangled bank, there it was … a glistening oval with organic knobs and serrated edges that reflected the rose-colored morning light and illuminated the layers of hidden color within the shell … a watercolorist’s dream!”

This chance encounter inspired Brian to spend countless hours crawling through the brambles and briars of area rivers and creek beds pursuing these motion-sensitive creatures, so he could capture their unique beauty in his watercolor paintings.

“As a subject, the turtle is a model of structure, function, and organic beauty,” Brian says. “As a being, it conjures up ancient legends and mythological references.

“My intent is to bring to the viewer the classic beauty of the turtle as a form as well as their peculiar tendency to arrange themselves in dynamic compositions, while bringing awareness to the challenges that are inherent in surviving in the wild in our contemporary world,” he adds.

With degrees in art education and printmaking from Ball State University and Purdue University, the Muncie resident has taught art for more than 20 years. Brian exhibits his work throughout the United States and has earned numerous awards for his watercolors.

Turtles continue to serve as a subject in Brian’s watercolor paintings portfolio as well as his lecture series on turtle identification and conservation in Indiana and the Midwest. He is also involved with an ongoing series entitled, “Root Writings,” a study of the translation of the lyrical root and rock formations at the edge of riverbanks into abstract compositions of their reflections.