Artwork copyright Bill Colby. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Bird on Branch, 1994

Bill Colby
(American, born 1927, died 2019)

Location: Horizons Elementary, Lacey

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Bird on Branch is a painting by artist Bill Colby created using Japanese sumi ink. It features a nature scene with stylized birds. The composition is inspired by birds the artist watched from his dining room. The artist notes, “The image tries to stimulate the flickering reality of a bird on a branch that the viewer can recall from their own experiences.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with North Thurston Public Schools.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tacoma-based artist and professor Bill Colby (1927-2019) created paintings, etchings and woodblock prints. In his own words: “Nature is a constant inspiration… Themes like rain, the forest and/or energy sources of nature are charged with expression of inherent power, yet peaceful.” He often uses texture and pattern, such as the wood grain in a woodblock print, to communicate form and movement.

Born in Kansas to a family of 11 siblings, Bill Colby showed an early talent for drawing. After high school in 1945, he served as a medic in Germany during World War II (1939-1945). He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Illinois. Colby taught art and chaired the art department at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Western Washington, from 1956 until 1989. He also served as director of the university's Kittredge Gallery, led studies abroad programs, and contributed to the Asian Studies Program. In the mid-1960s, he was the director of Tacoma Art Museum. He continued to make art from his home studio into his nineties.