GRAND CANYON CELEBR AT I O N O F A R T 2021
2021
c o ve r a r t
Gunnar Widforss The Grand Canyon, 1934
Oil on canvas From the collection of Doug Waldman.
Post Office Box 399, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 (800) 858-2808 grandcanyon.org copyright © 2021 by Grand Canyon Conservancy All Rights Reserved. Published 2021. All artworks are the property of their respective artists and are protected by copyright law. No portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means (with the exception of short quotes for the purpose of review), without permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America by Prisma. Edited by Mindy Riesenberg Designed by Sammy Schwarcz ISBN 978-1-934656-15-0
TABLE OF CONTENTS Click on an artist or flip through.
4 6 8
foreword introduction grand canyon conservancy
34 HAI-OU HOU 36 SUSIE HYER
10 JOSHUA BEEN
38 PEGGY IMMEL
12 ELIZABETH BLACK
40 BONNIE M C GEE
14 AMERY BOHLING
42 MICK M C GINTY
16 JOHN D. COGAN
44 JAMES M C GREW
18 MICHELLE CONDRAT
46 BETSY MENAND
20 BILL CRAMER
48 MARCIA MOLNAR
22 CODY D E LONG
50 JOSÉ LUIS NUNEZ
24 KADIN GOLDBERG
52 KARI GANOUNG RUIZ
26 ROBERT GOLDMAN
54 MATT STERBENZ
28 BRUCE GÓMEZ
56 DAWN SUTHERLAND
30 LINDA GLOVER GOOCH
58 PAULA SWAIN
32 ROBERT GREEN
60 celebration of art
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FOREWORD Alan Petersen, Curator of Fine Arts Museum of Northern Arizona One of history’s great masters of painting en plein air was Gunnar Widforss. He worked outdoors his whole career, during all seasons and all types of weather. Widforss loved the immediacy of his subject and the interaction with the weather, atmosphere, and elements of nature. He liked painting snow scenes outdoors in the middle of winter. Only if forced to, would he work indoors. In a letter written from Grand Canyon to a friend, he said that it was “much better to be outdoors in the midst of the scene.” Widforss lived primarily at the South Rim from 1926 until his death there in 1934. Unlike his contemporaries who painted at Grand Canyon, Widforss regularly made adventurous hikes in the canyon to capture subjects that very few other artists did. The invention of tin paint tubes by painter John Goffe Rand in 1841 made plein air painting much more practical for a greater number of artists. The tubes of color made it far easier to travel with oil and watercolor paints, leading to a boom in outdoor painting in the mid-nineteenth century. Remarkably, the majority of Widforss’ painting kit would have fit in a cigar box. Known as “The Painter of the National Parks,” Widforss especially liked to visit Phantom Ranch during the winter and in 1932 spent eight weeks at the inner canyon sanctuary. Ranch manager Ron Moore’s moonshine whiskey was an additional attraction. It’s safe to say that Widforss did more paintings of the inner canyon than any other artist before Merrill Mahaffey began making paintings from the Colorado River in the 1980s. Widforss’ 1929 watercolor, Grand Canyon, Inner Gorge, in the collection of the Grand Canyon Museum, is among his inner canyon masterpieces. Painted from the Clear Creek Trail, his view includes the large gravel bars in the Colorado at the mouth of Bright Angel Creek, the apparent jumble of the Grand Canyon Super Group above Bright Angel Canyon with Isis Temple crowning the geological sampler. The painting and Widforss’ exploits recall Joshua Bean’s 2018 cross-canyon painting expedition. Park Service naturalist Edwin McKee was one of Widforss’ closest friends at the South Rim. In a memoir McKee described Widforss’ method. “He was an exceptionally keen observer and he faithfully painted what he saw. Widforss’ paintings are remarkably faithful in detail and are careful records of nature.” While watching Widforss paint one day McKee observed that “The reason
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Gunnar Widforss, Grand Canyon, Inner Gorge, 1929 | 17x21, watercolor Courtesy of Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection, GRCA 13631
for his accuracy became readily apparent. He first outlined the features he wished to include by making a careful sketch of the topography, next he would paint the rock formations and vegetation over the outline, as he saw them, and finally he superimposed a blanket of haze and shadows characteristic of that particular time and place.” Rarely are any signs of pencil lines or evidence of preliminary drawing visible beneath Widforss’ luminous layers of watercolors. When examined closely, very fine and faint lines, such as those drawn with a sharp, hard pencil, may occasionally be seen. George Collins, the Assistant Chief Ranger during Widforss’ residence at Grand Canyon and another of his closest friends, observed that he was “meticulous in his work and able to render the most exacting details and subtle effects of light and shade. He was impatient with anything mediocre.” Gunnar Widforss’ ability, vision, and dedication are an inspiration for the artists who gather each September for the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. In fact, given Widforss’ relationship with Stephen Mather it is safe to say that today’s Celebration of Art is the direct result of each man’s vision of the National Parks and the role that Mather knew art should play in promoting and celebrating our national treasures like Grand Canyon.
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INTRODUCTION Theresa McMullan, Chief Executive Officer Grand Canyon Conservancy To me, there’s nothing as inspirational as the multihued views of Grand Canyon—the everchanging colors as the sun moves across the sky; the shadows that shift and stretch across the layers of rock; the shimmer of light that glances off the river as it carves its way through the park. Everyone has their own unique vision when admiring the canyon, and the 25 artists who were chosen to participate in the 2021 Celebration of Art are masterful interpreters of the various ways the majesty of Grand Canyon can be imprinted in our minds. This catalog features studio-produced paintings of magnificent Grand Canyon scenes that were submitted by each of the participating artists. These paintings, along with the plein air work created during the 2021 Celebration of Art, will be offered for sale for four months. Proceeds from the sale contribute to a future art venue at the South Rim. The board of directors and staff of Grand Canyon Conservancy wish to express our sincere appreciation to the National Park Service, our sponsors, volunteers, and art patrons. And of course, we thank the talented and dedicated artists who make this event possible. We hope the artworks from the grandest place on earth inspire you to preserve and protect this iconic landscape and be forever mindful of the beauty all around us.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEB WEINKAUFF
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GRAND CANYON CONSERVANCY Grand Canyon Conservancy is the official nonprofit partner of Grand Canyon National Park, raising private funds, operating retail shops within the park, and providing premier educational programs about the natural and cultural history of the region. Our supporters fund projects including trails and historic building preservation, educational programs for the public, and the protection of wildlife and their natural habitat. Grand Canyon Conservancy inspires generations of park champions to cherish and support the natural and cultural wonder of Grand Canyon. For more information, visit grandcanyon.org.
You can help by becoming a member today! Join at grandcanyon.org, at any Grand Canyon Conservancy park store, or by calling (800) 858-2808. If you are already a member, we thank you!
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
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JOSHUA BEEN Salida, Colorado
Joshua Been has been drawing since he could manage a pencil. Originally captivated by animation and cartooning, Joshua was also active in theater, performing arts, and earth sciences, an interdisciplinary foundation that is evident in his work. He worked for several years as a character animator and visual development artist for Cartoon Network, Disney, and other studios. Joshua has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where he graduated magna cum laude. He was the People’s Choice and Artist’s Choice Award winner at the 10th annual Celebration of Art.
There is nothing quite like the opportunity to disengage from all modern tech and life’s daily distractions in order to adventure through 270 river miles of once horizontally laid down layers of rock, some spanning several million year erosion epochs, now upturned, uplifted, and churned by unfathomable geologic powers, “unplugged!”
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Unplugged | 24x48, oil
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ELIZABETH BLACK Boulder, Colorado
Elizabeth Black worked as a river guide in Grand Canyon for many years. She first painted watercolors on a raft trip in the canyon in 1975. She and her husband, landscape photographer Christopher Brown, explore the west together, carrying their art-making equipment to the most scenic spots they can find. Elizabeth has won numerous awards, including Best of Show at Grand Canyon Celebration of Art (most recently in 2020), and her work may be found in many private and public collections. She is represented by Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder, Colorado, and the Sugarman-Peterson Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In the lower canyon, dawn’s slanting low light is gentle. Violet shadows and golden cliffs will soon change to sun-bleached barrens as the scorching sun wheels across the sky. But for now, cool moist air smells verdant, and still waters reflect dawn’s glowing palette. This mighty Colorado River, this thin green line in a parched landscape, this miracle of water in the desert generously shares its life-giving gifts as it flows to the sea.
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First Light Over Still Waters; Mile 220, On the Grand | 22x30, oil
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AMERY BOHLING Scottsdale, Arizona
Amery Bohling is an Arizona-based painter best known for her masterful works of Grand Canyon. Her style of work is often described as romantic naturalism—a hallmark of many great canyon painters and a style she’s refined for 12 years, beginning in Provence, France. Amery is proud to hold membership to the prestigious Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, and Grand Canyon Conservancy. In 2019, her work was selected as the cover for Arizona Highway Magazine’s February issue, dedicated to celebrating Grand Canyon National Park’s Centennial. Other print features have been included in Phoenix Home and Garden, Plein Air Magazine, Western Art Collector, and Southwest Art Magazine. When not painting at the edge of the canyon, she can often be found working in her studio and gallery based in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale or painting Mexican seascapes in Cabo San Lucas.
When portraying the canyon, it’s difficult not to rely on hyperbole. How else can we convey the vastness and the sublime that the canyon presents to us? As artists, we are so often tempted to portray dramatic sunsets, elemental weather, and austere cliffs to the point we can lose our appreciation for the inherent majesty of Grand Canyon. Nearing Golden Hour indulges in the quiet and contemplative nature of this landscape: it presents the warm afternoon light, sprawling depth, and restful calm you only experience after you sit and stay awhile. This piece began as a plein air study, created in the same area that’s rumored to house Mary Colter’s private bench. I imagine her taking in the same scene over a century ago, and I feel a kinship knowing we both enjoyed this landscape in its simplicity—no embellishment or dramatization, just admiration for the canyon and its grandeur.
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Nearing Golden Hour at Hermit’s Rest | 24x30, oil
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JOHN D. COGAN Farmington, New Mexico
John D. Cogan has participated in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2009, winning Best of Show in 2015. In 2012, his painting Out of the Depths won the Jack Dudley Memorial Purchase Award and is now in Grand Canyon National Park’s collection. John has spent time on both the North and South Rims as Artist in Residence. He has won numerous awards, and his paintings are part of the permanent collections of Citizens Bank, Conoco Phillips, McGraw Hill, San Juan College, Eastern New Mexico University, Raymond James Financial, Xanterra Corporation, Zion National Park, and the Sultanate of Oman, among others. In 2019, John was designated an Associate Living Master™ at the Art Renewal Center, an honor that places him among the best representational artists of this century.
Anyone who has rafted the Colorado River knows that when viewed from the inside out, Grand Canyon seems almost to be a separate and distinct place. The temples, buttes, and walls, once observed from the rim, rising out of the depths, now tower above, even more massive and commanding. Like the river, time seems to mostly drift by, each bend and turn presenting new vistas in front and behind. But there are surprises. The churning white water of rapids, the changes in geologic strata as the chasm deepens, and glimpses of inhabitants who make the canyon their home. One thing is always constant for the artist: whether looking into it or out of it, Grand Canyon never disappoints.
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Sentinels of Time | 30x40, acrylic
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MICHELLE CONDRAT Salt Lake City, Utah
Michelle Condrat is a native of Utah and has lived there for almost her entire life. After earning her art and art history degrees from the University of Utah in 2007, she continued with her artistic journey, painting the unique landscape of Utah and the Southwest. When she is not working in the studio, she is spending her time in the outdoors, driving through mountain ranges, fishing lakes and streams, and hiking through canyons, where she gathers inspiration and subject matter for her paintings. Michelle is known for her unique “digital” or “architectural” style of intense color choices and linear blended strokes, giving motion and depth to her paintings. She has won numerous awards, including the People’s Choice Award at the Zion National Park Invitational (2019) and the Purchase Award at the Sears Dixie Invitational (2021).
As I look out across the Grand Canyon, I see the same element that carved out the magnificent landscape before me, but instead of flowing through the rocky terrain, the water falls down from the sky reflecting the colors of the sunset as it catches the last moments of daylight. There is beauty to the cycle of nature and how life sources like water can form in different ways and do extraordinary things such as carving out an entire canyon or bringing life to the land. Seeing this perfect storm in the distance reminds me that we are all connected to this amazing world and that it is something to be cherished and respected for our future and for the generations to come.
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The Perfect Storm | 24x36, oil
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BILL CRAMER Prescott, Arizona
Bill Cramer is best known for his striking oil paintings of the American West. As a longtime rock climber, he spent much of his youth enjoying the more vertical aspects of the western landscape. After receiving his degree in fine arts from Cal State Long Beach, he moved to Arizona to be closer to the scenery he most enjoyed. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Artists’ Choice Award at the 2020 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art and Best of Show at Prescott Plein Air (2020). “My goals are to keep exploring the Southwest’s wild places, search for new ideas, and express what I find exciting about landscapes and painting,” he says.
Nothing says “hope” like rain in the desert. Watching a summer thunderstorm deliver its precious cargo to the canyon can be an incredible sight. Most years during the Celebration of Art, the artists are privileged to see several of these storms. The rain and lightning that comes with them forces more prudent visitors indoors, while artists grab their paints and head for the rim. I personally look forward to them, so long as I’m not in their path! Many of us have lightning stories we could share. When a storm rolls over the Grand Canyon, it adds a sense of drama that few other things can. You are no longer just someone looking at something but become a witness to the one of the important processes that helped make it all. Water is an agent of change. Besides deep time itself, it’s the main force creating the canyon. It gives life to everything living in it—from the rim to the river. As I write this, the West is enduring yet another drought. Maybe I’m trying to conjure up some rain by painting it! Symbolically, storms often serve as warnings, but the rain they bring can be seen as bringing new life, freedom, and rejuvenation. For so many reasons, we’re all looking for rain “On the Horizon!”
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On the Horizon | 36x36, oil
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CODY D e LONG Prescott, Arizona
After selling his work in Jerome, Arizona for 22 years, Cody closed his Studio/ Gallery in February of 2021, sold his home, and bought a truck and camper. He is currently embarked on an exploration of the western states living the nomad artist lifestyle. Cody paints plein air on the road, mountain bikes, and lives a life of freedom and authenticity. “Each painting I do springs from an idea I have about my subject. I’m not a formulaic painter, meaning I don’t use the same approach for each painting I do. I prefer to let the subject dictate my painting techniques to some degree. This is a sometimes risky way of working, but it’s what keeps my love alive for the process.”
This is a view looking up river from one of my favorite campsites along the Colorado in the Grand Canyon, around mile 75. The light coming across the water and lighting up the far wall that morning was just spectacular. Who needs coffee when mother nature is putting on a show like this? This is a wrap-around canvas, painted on the sides with an “accent frame” on the top and bottom made of alder, in a simple profile of my design.
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Gentle Sounds of the Colorado | 24x48, oil
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KADIN GOLDBERG Red Lodge, Montana
At a young age, Kadin Goldberg moved into a travel trailer with his family to travel the western U.S. for a year. This is where he first found his true passion for nature. Kadin graduated from the University of Montana, Missoula with a bachelor’s in psychology, but then decided to pursue art. He studied portrait and figure drawing at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy and continued his studies at Angela Cunningham’s Fine Art Studio in North Carolina. Throughout Kadin’s artistic career he has received numerous awards including first place (2017) and second place (2018) in the Rocky Mountain Juried Exhibition in Red Lodge, Montana as well as third place in the Borrego Springs Plein Air Invitational. Kadin can be found traveling and painting throughout the western U.S. with his life partner Heather and his Australian cattle dog Kaia.
It was quieter than usual on the south rim with only a few individuals taking in the last light. Perhaps it had something to do with the season coming to an end but the canyon felt even more peaceful than usual this particular evening. As the sun slowly fell on the western horizon, shadows in the canyon unveiled hidden formations and obscured ones once observed. The color of the sun’s rays became warmer, shifting more towards oranges and reds. With the light changing quickly, I took a deep breath and began setting up my pallet. As a plein air painter I often get caught up in the excitement of catching the quickly moving light, but this day was different. A sense of calmness swept over me as I began to lay in the first colors. As the purple-grey shadows climbed the interior canyon walls I took my time to capture the atmospheric subtleties and warm sunlight.
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Hidden Layers | 24x39, oil
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ROBERT GOLDMAN Prescott, Arizona
Robert Goldman attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He has won numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 2019 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, second place in the Oil Painters of America Fall 2019 Online Showcase, and an award at the Lana International Art Competition juried by Wayne Thiebaud. In 2019 the Thunderbird Foundation gave Robert a successful solo show in their gallery celebrating the 150th anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s trip down the Colorado River. His works have been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, Southwest Art, and Western Art and Architecture.
In this painting, the lone figure is immersed in the grandeur and enormity of the Grand Canyon under a blanket of snow. The snow brings forth unique aspects of design and simplicity in relation to the varied elements of the landscape.
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Winter at the Canyon | 30x40, oil
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BRUCE GÓMEZ Denver, Colorado
Bruce Gómez has been working in pastel full-time for the last 30 years and has been teaching workshops for the past fifteen. His artistic influences range from Paleolithic art to Alfred Sisley, Maxfield Parrish, Juan Gris, and Gustav Klimt. He considers himself fortunate to travel and paint in wonderful places like Telluride, Paris, Rome, and Moab. “I go out and look to capture that one unique and spectacular moment of life,” he says. Bruce was the recipient of the Artist’s Choice Award at the 2017 Celebration of Art.
Imagine the stunning silence of snow and clouds filling the vastest space. I saw this slow dance of a storm breaking below me two decades ago and I’ve forever been wanting to capture this on paper.
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A Canyon of February Storm | 29x39, pastel
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LINDA GLOVER GOOCH Mesa, Arizona
Linda Glover Gooch grew up in the warmth of the Southwest. Spending time as a child playing in the orchard groves, washes, and arroyos of Southern California is how Linda developed a love of landscape. Studying and working on location through the west has been her pursuit for the past 30 years. Linda’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and museums and has won awards such as the Patrons’ Choice Award at the Hockaday Museum exhibition “A Timeless Legacy: Women Artists of Glacier National Park” (2017 and 2019); the Governor’s Choice and Artists’ Choice Awards at the 2019 “Cowgirl Up!” exhibition at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum; and Best Body of Work at the 2014 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. Her paintings are featured in “Art of the National Parks: Historic Connections, Contemporary Interpretations,” and have been showcased in Art of the West Magazine, Southwest Art, and Plein Air Magazine.
Sunsets at the canyon can be hypnotizing as the glow in the sky influence the majestic walls. The mesas and buttes edges catch the golden glow that spreads across the canyon creating a beautiful display. This display of clouds created sunrays blasting upward while blanketing the canyon with beauty.
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Age to Age | 15x28, oil
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ROBERT GREEN San Diego, California
Robert was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. He has been an artist all his life and has worked in many media including oil, watercolor, pen and ink, and pastel. Robert retired from a career in urban and architectural design to concentrate full time as a professional artist both outdoors and in the studio. In 2018 Robert was invited to join the San Diego Plein Air Painters group and participated in their show at the San Diego Maritime Museum. He donated his painting of the Star of India ship to the museum. Robert is also a member of the Laguna Plein Air Painter’s Association. More recently, he has focused on portraiture and in 2020 he presented a series of portraits to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America-San Diego.
Nature has always provided me with inspiration and solace during difficult times. This has been especially true during the last 18 months. I suspect that this is also true for many people. This painting, therefore, is a tribute to the healing and restorative force of nature. The timeless constancy of the Grand Canyon is powerful and anchoring presence for me. It always lifts my spirits. (Along with thousands of others I was unable to visit the canyon in 2020 and I am grateful to Yvette Collins for providing reference material for this painting.)
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Bright Spot | 30x40, oil
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HAI-OU HOU Stevensville, Maryland
Hai-Ou Hou was born in Beijing where she received her B.F.A. from Central Institute of Fine Art and Design. She earned her M.F.A. from Towson State University, and taught painting and design at the Fine Art Institute in Wu Han, China. Hai-Ou is a Signature Member in both the American Impressionist Society and the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters’ Association. She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America and the Washington Society of Landscape Painters. Her work is widely represented in commercial galleries and is included in many public and private collections throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has received numerous awards and honors through participation in art events and exhibitions.
The Grand Canyon, devastatingly beautiful and monumental, has long inspired me to paint. The COVID-19 pandemic is devastation on a monumental scale and compels me to paint. This painting contrasts the solid greatness of the one to the fearful apparition of the other; the canyon will remain long after COVID fades away.
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Endurance | 16x20, oil
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SUSIE HYER Evergreen, Colorado
Susie Hyer is an award-winning artist who has been working professionally since 1976. Her work has appeared in numerous galleries and national exhibitions and hangs in many private and corporate collections. Susie was honored with an award from her alma mater, Moravian College, for achievement in the field of art. Her work has appeared in numerous books and publications, including Art of the West Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, Plein Air Magazine, and Southwest Art, and is represented by a number of galleries along Colorado’s Front Range and the Southwest.
When I think about the Grand Canyon, a lot of things come to the surface of my awareness. There are memories: spectacular sunrises and sunsets; elk moving through my campsite; the midday light that washes the canyon of distance, contrast, and color; and the early or late day light which includes all those elements. There is sound: the calls of birds overhead while I’m painting; the sounds of squirrels scurrying to and fro; the coyotes calling to each other in the night; the rain falling softly (or loudly) on my tent; the sound of the rapids on the river. There are emotions: the anticipation of the long journey here; the joy of seeing friends I am bonded to because of this place; the happiness I feel when painting or hiking here; the concern for the environmental impact of overuse on an international treasure. There are smells: the scent of ponderosas, pinyons, and cedars in the wooded areas on the rim; the sage when my jeans brush against it as I’m looking for just the right view to paint; the dry earth baking in the hot sun; the exhaust of the west rim buses shuttling tourists. All this is the canyon in my relative perception. It is a blended concoction of poetry, peace, and panic. This studio painting, while based on a photograph I took from the rim a few years back, cannot help but be a product of a relative perception I have acquired from many experiences here. In short, it is a fantasy. But it’s an honest one.
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A New Day Dawns Bright | 48x30, oil
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PEGGY IMMEL Taos, New Mexico
Peggy Immel is an award-winning artist whose works have been featured in exhibitions across the country. Her educational background includes architectural studies at Arizona State University and classes at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the DeCordova Museum School, and the Silvermine Arts Center. She is a member of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, Plein Air Artists Colorado, and Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. Most recently, Peggy’s work won the Best of Signature Members Award at the 2020 Plein Air Artists Colorado National Juried Exhibition and the Award of Excellence at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters “Plein Air for the Park” at Grand Teton National Park. Her work has been showcased in Santa Fean Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, and Art of the West Magazine.
2020 felt as though it would never end. And, if there is poetry to be found in the year of the pandemic it would appear in the metaphor of an eternal winter. I love the gorgeous light that envelops the canyon at the beginning and end of each day, tied to the rise and fall of the sun. A Long December was painted one year after the beginning of our national hibernation and portrays the canyon from the South Rim Trail looking north towards Bright Angel Point at sunset, in winter, blanketed in snow.
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A Long December | 24x36, oil
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BONNIE M c GEE St. George, Utah
Bonnie McGee has been painting en plein air since 1999, when she attended a Plein Air Painters of America workshop in Steamboat Springs. Since then, she has studied with major plein air artists, and has won awards at many events. In 2014, the Plein Air Artists of Colorado awarded her Best of Show. Prior to her art career, Bonnie was a teacher who left it all to circumnavigate the world in a sailboat with her husband for four and a half years. Her book “Voices on the Wind” describes the island cultures she encountered and their influence on how she saw her own culture. Bonnie is represented by Wild Horse in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
The poet William Wordsworth wrote: And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean, and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought, And rolls through all things. – from “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798”
I paint in a humble and impossible attempt to capture that presence and to share it with others. Beauty resides in the glow of a sunset, in the perfection of an untouched wilderness, in the play of light on clouds and mountains. Blessed to have lived my life amid landscapes of extraordinary visual beauty in both Colorado’s Yampa Valley and Utah’s red rock desert, I hope my paintings convey my gratitude and joy.
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Where Condors Soar | 24x36, oil
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MICK M c GINTY Gilbert, Arizona
Mick McGinty’s art career began at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His artistic skills were honed in the field of commercial illustration, and his work included some of the most recognizable illustrations in American advertising, numerous album covers, and movie posters. Today, Mick’s focus is on the Southwest and West, and his many painting trips around Arizona have been a significant factor in the shift in his work toward a more impressionistic and intuitive style. “I feel as though I’ve just skimmed the surface of my work as an artist,” he says. “I look forward to new discoveries and experiments in painting that I have yet to experience.”
For me, the trees and vegetation at Grand Canyon are just as interesting as the canyon itself, and sometimes more, when the light is just right. The junipers at the canyon are my favorite inhabitants. They have to be strong, and if you ever bumped your head on one of the branches trying to maneuver around to get a photograph, you know what I mean. They are like iron bars. Rough and rugged, they look like individuals that you seem to have met in your life. Personalities that are either kind and gentle, or stern and unapproachable. Whatever vibe they throw out, it’s their neighborhood and I’m just trying to understand it.
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Blooming Juniper | 24x30, oil
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JAMES M c GREW Lake Oswego, Oregon
James McGrew’s strong background in natural sciences (degrees in biology, chemistry, and geology) helps him understand his natural subjects as well as to carry on the tradition of 19th century artists whose images helped to establish the first national parks. He also lends his art background to his work as a summer seasonal Yosemite ranger/naturalist as he has for the past 24 summers. His paintings hang in collections around the world, and he has received numerous awards, including Best of Show and five consecutive People’s Choice Awards at the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and four People’s Choice Awards at Zion Plein Air Invitational. James’ work has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, and Western Art Collector.
I awoke in early morning darkness at my North Rim campsite and drove to the Walhalla Plateau through sub-freezing temperatures and wind gusts while maneuvering around wind strewn tree debris, often slowing or stopping for various birds and wildlife, apparently surprised with the first headlights of early morning. I arrived near Cliff Spring trailhead and scrambled up a steep ridge in thrilling anticipation as growing twilight filled the canyon with faint grayish forms. Clouds on the eastern horizon first began glowing like crimson embers slowly burning higher until igniting a burst of brilliant light and colors as the sun broke over the horizon and clouds. Its warm, comforting light spilled into the new day and illuminated nearby Angel’s Window as most of the canyon remained in cool shadow. I photographed and painted that morning in solitude except for the company of a pair of juvenile Cooper’s hawks occasionally paying me curious visits and playing together as they darted throughout the cove towards Angel’s Window and soaring out over the canyon. Throughout a week of plein air painting, this brief sunrise created the most vivid memories and greatest inspiration for a larger studio piece. It also seemed most appropriate for 2021 as a hopeful new dawn following a long, stormy night.
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Angel’s Window Sunrise Panorama | 14x40, oil
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BETSY MENAND Gunnison, Colorado
Betsy Menand is an artist and adventurer who has a B.F.A. from the University of Denver in painting and drawing. She has also studied art abroad at the Winchester School of Art in England and has taken courses in graphic design at Northern Arizona University. She has been visiting Grand Canyon since 1985, and her work has appeared in shows in Denver, Colorado and Flagstaff, Arizona. “I love to sketch, draw, and paint images gathered from my outdoor adventures. Exploring the wild landscapes and national parks of the southwest is where you’ll find me,” she says.
Nankoweap Sun Flows Light Floods the Canyon’s Descent We Float in Beauty
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February Light | 24x36, acrylic gouache
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MARCIA MOLNAR Prescott, Arizona
Marcia Molnar’s life is one of contrasts. In summer, she camps and paints en plein air on the rim of Grand Canyon. At other times, she’s in New York City, wandering the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, and Central Park. “Having the opportunity to spend time in two different places during the year has encouraged me to try new things,” she says. Marcia lives in Prescott, Arizona with her artist husband George Molnar. Together they explore and paint Arizona ranch life as well as the Grand Canyon. Marcia’s formative years were spent in her father’s gallery in Carmel, California. She moved on to do commissioned portraiture for many years, and then landscape. Marcia was awarded the Patron’s Award at the 2018 “Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West” show at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona and won Best of Show at the 2016 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. Her works are shown at Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona and the Broadmoor Galleries in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
On a warm day in October, I found myself standing in a small herd of Bighorn sheep on the rim of Grand Canyon. In the quiet munching and shuffling of hooves I was hopelessly enchanted. The canyon is a magical, spiritual place, and somehow, I am compelled to paint the intangible poetry of earth, wind, wild things, and light. This painting is so much about what I love, not just the canyon and sheep but movement and repetition of light, shape, and color—the obvious and subtle. I gave myself permission and freedom to do exactly what I wanted to do and let it ride. Every time I thought I was finished, I was not. The painting kept wanting a little more intensity, a little more depth. It has finally stopped talking to me, so here’s to the next big adventure! See you on the rim!
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Sacred Convocation | 45x45, oil
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JOSÉ LUIS NUNEZ Danbury, Connecticut
José Luis Nunez was born in Mexico City, where he began painting at the age of 13. He studied art and philosophy in Spain, Italy, and Mexico, and did his graduate studies in painting and metal engraving at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (San Carlos Art Academy). His work has been on view in more than 50 exhibitions around the world and has won awards in the U.S. and Brazil, where he lived for three years. A U.S. resident since 2002, José takes regular plein air painting trips to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.
There is so much grandeur, beauty, and immensity at Grand Canyon that a whole human life would not be enough to capture its spirit and beauty. This is the reason to wake up early and be by the rims from dawn to dusk. To me, the more dramatic, the better. Therefore, sunrise and sunset offer the best light for the painter. Hopi Point is one of the best places to be in the afternoon. Approaching Rain Showers is a late afternoon view of Hopi Point and what lays beyond it. At Grand Canyon the challenge for the plein air painter is tremendous. The sun moves fast and so do the shadows, shades, and color hues during the day. Clouds add drama but also hide, shade, and darken the light, complicating the development of a plein air painting. But the result is the magic spontaneity of outdoor art.
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Approaching Rain Showers | 30x40, oil
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KARI GANOUNG RUIZ Interlaken, New York
Kari Ganoung Ruiz was raised at the edge of the Finger Lakes National Forest in central New York state. She received a bachelor’s in fine art painting from Ashland University, Ohio. She and her husband, photographer Diego Ruiz, have an online gallery of their work, which allows them to travel the U.S. to paint and photograph en plein air. Kari was awarded Best in Show at Finger Lakes Plein Air in New York (2017), first place Quick Draw at Lighthouse Plein Air in Florida (2018), Grand Prize at Two Rivers Plein Air in Texas (2019), and Grand Prize at Adirondack Plein Air in New York (2020). Her work is held in public and private collections across the U.S. and Canada, including the collection of the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado.
On first approaching the Grand Canyon rim, I felt time slow other visitors seemed a blur then gone. They moved through as I stayed on, transfixed by the scene stretching out. My mind attempted to make sense of the vastness dials adjusting, switches thrown seeking a cue for depth and distance. Measuring and calculating, finally, an understanding of the topography then a rollercoaster drop realization of scale. Time starts again like a record player. I see the quickly shifting patterns of shadow and light revealing a glimmer, a glimpse of Earth’s history on awesome display.
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Storied Shadows | 20x36, oil
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MATT STERBENZ Chandler, Arizona
Matt Sterbenz was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He received a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Arizona State University. Matt is the former president of Arizona Plein Air Painters and has participated in some of the nation’s top plein air invitational events, including the Sedona Plein Air Festival and the Pacific Northwest Plein Air Event, and he was an invited member of the teaching faculty at the 2016 Plein Air Convention and Expo in Tucson, Arizona. He was the recipient of the People’s Choice Award at the 2020 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and his work has appeared in numerous publications, including Plein Air Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine.
The sun’s first rays stream across the Grand Canyon at Moran Point. The light transforms the iconic buttes and temples into islands as they appear to float in a shadowy sea of deep blue. Far below, a sliver of the Colorado River reflects the sky above.
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Cobalt Depths | 24x36, oil
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DAWN SUTHERLAND Flagstaff, Arizona
Dawn Sutherland is a painter of southwest landscapes. A teacher in her first life, a college counselor in her second, she has been a painter since 2001. Dawn and her husband Stan moved to Arizona in 2003, where her paintbrushes met the challenge of intense blue skies, distant horizons, canyon mazes, and quilts of wildflowers. “Painting outdoors, en plein air, uniquely captures the depth, definition, and feeling of the landscape before me,” she says. “I feel there is almost always a near-perfect composition provided by nature.” 2021 is her eighth year participating in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. Dawn is a founding member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, and her work is represented by Arizona Handmade Gallery, Flagstaff and Jane Hamilton Fine Art, Tucson.
At first glance, the heart soars as on the glinting wings of a violet-green swallow Sunrise zephyrs wrap tempting tendrils around the feet, leading them into the never-ending labyrinth of light and shadow. And the soul melts into the Canyon’s seductive embrace. Distant airy veils of blue light, revealing to those who venture in, this chasm’s eternal enigmas and everlasting beauty. And that simple, single step on a Canyon path begins the lifelong journey of a thousand miles.
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A Single Step | 36x30, oil
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PAULA SWAIN Salt Lake City, Utah
Paula Swain grew up with plein air painting as a part of her life. Both of her parents were art teachers, and many of Paula’s childhood weekends were spent plein air painting with her father. She eventually attended college, graduating as a registered nurse from the San Juan College of Nursing in New Mexico. But plein air painting was her first love, and she returned to it immediately. Her work can be found in collections around the world and has been shown in galleries around the U.S. Paula was awarded second place in the 2019 Oil Painters of America Great Paint Out in Sedona, Arizona and third place in the 2020 Sedona Plein Air event.
This is one of my favorite places on the planet! It is the President Harding camp on the upper Colorado River. On a river trip we had time to do a couple of plein air paintings here. My goal was to figure out how to convey the colors of the glowing limestone walls. This is the view looking upriver from a beach near the bottom of Eminence Break; just beyond this area is where the river takes one of its sharpest turns. As I was painting, I was reminded of the words of Vincent Van Gogh, “I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream.” It seems anywhere, any view of the Grand Canyon evokes in me a deep feeling of awe, stillness in my soul, and great respect for the canyon. But this place is extra special. It is my intent to share with the viewer these feelings of joy, wonder, and awe.
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Redwall Sunset | 45x36, oil
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Grand Canyon Conservancy’s Celebration of Art is a wonderful tradition at Grand Canyon National Park, providing a vibrant experience for visitors, a venue for artists inspired by the canyon, and a successful fundraiser to benefit a future art venue at the South Rim. Art plays a critical role in the appreciation of our national parks, and this event helps to keep the artistic tradition part of the Grand Canyon experience. Since its inception in 2009, Celebration of Art has invited participating artists to paint “en plein air” (outside on location) for a week at Grand Canyon. The works produced during this time are shown alongside studio-produced pieces at the historic Kolb Studio in an exhibition and sale that extends for four months. Visitors have the opportunity to watch the artists paint along the South Rim as they interpret the ever-shifting light and shadow, amazing landforms, and vibrant colors of this vast landscape. Celebration of Art is a singular event. No studios, no special lighting, no photographs pinned to a concept wall—just an easel, an artist, and the Grand Canyon stretched out across the horizon as far as the eye can see.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEB WEINKAUFF
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2021 CE L E BRATION OF ART SPONSORS The 13th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is presented by Grand Canyon Conservancy on behalf of Grand Canyon National Park. Major support is provided by our sponsors. We thank them for their generous contributions.
P REM IER SPONSOR
K AIB AB SPONSOR Tyson Winarski COCONINO SPONSORS Jeanne & Nigel Finney Teresa Kline Picerne Fine Art Collection Courtesy of Doreen, David, & Danielle Picerne Amy & Mark Schiavoni Stephen Watson VISHNU SPONSORS Anonymous in honor of Arline Tinus Loven Contracting A S P ECI AL T H A NK YOU TO OU R M ED IA S P ONS ORS
Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air Magazine TO PU R CH AS E PA IN TIN G S F R OM C E L E BR AT I O N O F A R T , V I S I T G R A N DCA N YO N . O R G / COA
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