The Loon is synonymous with the vast solitudes of the north. I have painted it using various mediums in the past but it was not until I ‘found’ lithographic limestone and the black fluid solutions used in its processes that I felt I had the proper medium to do this compelling and mysterious bird justice.
Since completing this suite of 4 species, the biologists of Ornithology have seen fit to designate the Arctic Loon and its close cousin the Pacific Loon as two distinct species. The latest field guides now list 5 species of Loon in all.
The regular lithographic editions of the Northern Loon pulled at our press in 1990 comprise 75 examples each of the 4 species of loon listed at that time. A ‘special edition’ of 25 examples of each species was also pulled for those collectors wishing all 4 species in consecutive Roman numerals. The stones were then cancelled. A lithograph of the Pacific Loon has not been planned.
