Conversations With Tony Foster
On Exploring Beauty: Watercolour Diaries from the Wild
Artist Tony Foster’s 16th Journey Exploring Beauty: Watercolour Diaries from the Wild celebrates the wild beauty of nature. Over the course of nearly a decade, Foster invited leading scientists, explorers, writers, environmentalists, and mountaineers to nominate a beautiful wild place. The nominated sites inspired the resulting expeditions and paintings. The following virtual interviews with Tony Foster seek to uncover more of the context and stories behind Tony’s work, including details about each location and the luminary who nominated the Sub-Journey site.
Locations
Episode 1
Parinacota Volcano, Chile
In fall 2015, Foster traveled to the north of Chile to paint Parinacota volcano as part of Exploring Beauty. He was accompanied by David George, Mattias Lanas, and Charlie Utting. This virtual interview seeks to uncover more of the context behind Foster’s work, including details about the trip, the location, and the luminary who nominated the site, volcanologist Sir Stephen Sparks.
Episode 2
Atacama Desert, Chile
In this excerpt from a Zoom conversation, Foster and travel companion Mattias Lanas reflect back on their 2015 experiences in Chile in the Atacama Desert, where Tony painted seven artworks for his 16th Journey. The Atacama night skies were nominated by internationally renowned Chilean astronomer María Teresa Ruiz.
Episode 3
Denali, Alaska, USA
Listen in as Tony Foster and his friends and travel companions Persis Hataria, Peerooza Hataria, and Tom Keane reflect back on their 2014 experiences in Alaska. Tony traveled there to paint Mt. Denali after being nominated by internationally acclaimed plant scientist Winslow Briggs.
Episode 4
Mont Blanc, France
This is a short clip from the French film "Artistes d'en Haut," a film by Bruno Peyronnet for Montagne TV / Eliocom 2012. Tony and his luminary Lionel Wibault were two of the four artists featured in this documentary about artists painting en plein air at high elevations.
Episode 5
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
Tony and Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto discuss what it was like to explore and paint the Grand Canyon. Tony Foster created his most ambitious, largest artwork to date there and rafted down the Colorado River to make a series of 6 paintings.
Episode 6
Mulu Caves, Borneo
In this video, listen as Tony and Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto discuss his 2015 trip to Mulu Caves in Borneo. Enjoy Tony's lively description of his visit with Penan tribal elder, Nyapun.
Episode 7
Rainforest, Borneo
In this video, Tony and Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto discuss what it is like to live and work in rainforests, inspired by his trip to Gulung Mulu National Park in Borneo.
Episode 8
Coral Reefs
Tony Foster discusses techniques he developed to sketch underwater that allowed him to create watercolor paintings of coral reefs in the Cayman Islands and the Maldives.
Episode 9
Sunsets, Maldives
In this excerpt from a Zoom conversation, Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto interviews Tony and his wife, artist Ann Foster, about their trips to the Maldives over the years.
Episode 10
The Arctic, Greenland
Tony and Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto discuss Foster's experiences working in the frigid Arctic, based in Ilulissat, Greenland.
Episode 11
Kama Valley, Tibet
Tony and Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto discuss how Foster trekked in the Himalayas to paint from above the Kama Valley.
Episode 12
Machapuchare, Nepal
Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto asks Tony about his experience painting Machapuchare, or "Fish's Tail" mountain in Nepal in 2014.
Episode 13
Autumn Leaves, New England, USA
In this virtual conversation, Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto and Tony Foster discuss the artist's experience in 2012 painting dazzling fall colors in New England.
Episode 14
Wistman's Wood, Devon, UK
Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto asks Tony about working in Wistman’s Wood, an ancient oak woodland in the UK, and about conserving wild places.
Episode 15
Cornwall, UK
In this virtual conversation with Anne Baxter from The Foster Museum in Palo Alto, Tony describes his experiences painting in Cornwall, UK, his home.