All Rights Reserved. Published 2024. 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 (except for short quotes for the purpose of review) without permission of the publisher.
Designed and Printed in the United States of America by Prisma
Edited by Mindy Riesenberg
Photos by: Raymond Chee, Fresh Focuses Photography, Grand Canyon Conservancy, Grand Canyon National Park, Lear Miller, Off Madison Ave, David Wallace
ISBN: 978-1-934656-06-8
Grand Canyon Conservancy inspires generations of park champions to cherish and support the natural and cultural wonder of Grand Canyon. Proceeds from the sale of this book directly support the mission of Grand Canyon National Park.
FOREWORD
By Edward T. Keable , Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park
The National Park Service and Grand Canyon National Park have long and fruitful relationships with artists and art. Artists helped popularize parks in their early years, even before they were officially established as parks. This work drove tourists to visit the places they saw in paintings, sketches, chromolithographs, and engravings.
The great artist Thomas Moran was one of the early champions of parks in art. His Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone propelled his career, but it was the real Grand Canyon that captured his imagination. He visited the canyon almost every year between 1901 and 1924, painting hundreds of images, many of which he then sold to the Santa Fe Railroad for promotional purposes. His painting The Chasm of the Colorado (1873) is one of his most celebrated works. It still inspires today.
Art, like Grand Canyon National Park, elevates us. We see our best selves in art and in our parks. Art focused on parks inspires us to visit those parks, explore them, and be touched by them, just as when the Park Service was still forming.
Grand Canyon National Park is proud to have a connection to this storied relationship with artists through Grand Canyon Conservancy’s (GCC) Celebration of Art program. For fifteen years, GCC has sponsored artists who have spent a week painting at the South Rim, with some intrepid artists hiking into the canyon, driving to the North Rim, or rafting the Colorado River to find their inspirations. The canyon is a complex subject for the artists, with its innumerable locations and shifting landscapes, with the movement of the sun and the clouds changing the colors and shadows of the rock layers. The diverse styles the artists employ and the different locations they find reveal images that are as varied as the canyon itself.
Celebration of Art is an interpretive program as well. We encourage visitors to engage with the artists as they enact their magic of transforming a white canvas into an image
of the canyon. Visitors get the enchanting opportunity to learn from the artists about style, technique, and inspiration and can watch the magic unfold before them. The artists, in turn, are eager to share themselves and their work. Visitors can also purchase paintings, allowing them to bring home a souvenir of their Grand Canyon experience and a connection to this special place. Proceeds of the sale support the establishment of an art and exhibit venue in the park. I have recently identified a building on the South Rim that we will retrofit for this exciting purpose.
Celebration of Art continues the long and fruitful relationship the National Park Service and Grand Canyon National Park have with artists and art. I invite you to join in that relationship. Come to the park, engage with the artists, and bring a part of your Grand Canyon experience home to serve as a constant reminder of the connections you made to the canyon and yourself.
I look forward to seeing you here.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the 16th annual Celebration of Art! This extraordinary gathering brings together artists, art collectors, park enthusiasts, and art aficionados from all corners of the globe. This year, we’re proud to present works by 23 talented artists from 9 different states.
These artists have the majestic Grand Canyon as their backdrop—from the soft, delicate shadows of the early morning to the resplendent golden glow of sunset, the artworks they create before and during the sale and exhibition perfectly capture the breathtaking essence of Grand Canyon.
Within these pages, you’ll discover a collection of studio-produced paintings showcasing stunning vistas and personal impressions of the canyon. These artworks, alongside the plein air creations crafted during the 2024 Celebration of Art, will be available for purchase both online and in-person at historic Kolb Studio from September 15, 2024, to January 20, 2025. Proceeds from the sale contribute to a future art venue to showcase the art and other collections of Grand Canyon Conservancy and the National Park Service.
The board of directors and staff of Grand Canyon Conservancy wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers, passionate art patrons, hardworking National Park Service staff, and most of all, the talented artists who participate in and support this unique event. It is through these artists’ creativity that Celebration of Art continues to flourish, captivating hearts and minds with the beauty of Grand Canyon and celebrating the profound connection between human expression and the majesty of our natural world.
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 guided 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, any Grand Canyon Conservancy park store, or call (800) 858-2808. If you are already a member, we thank you!
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. When the boat carrying her sketches flipped, all her paintings got soaked, and about half were improved immensely by their swim. That incident gave her a tiny glimpse of the exciting potential ahead. 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.
Vaseys Paradise at Mile 32 gets all the love, but the Redwall cliff across the river from Vaseys is equally spectacular. The Redwall layer in the Grand Canyon originally formed in a shallow sea over 300 million years ago. Billions of little sea creatures lived, died, and dissolved into the lime-rich mud on the floor of that ancient sea. Miraculously, that shallow sea persisted unchanged for 30 million years, depositing hundreds of feet of limey mud and sea creatures. Later, other sediments were deposited on top of these limey muds, compressing them and turning them into a thick, uniform layer of limestone. The whole sea was uplifted about 80 million years ago, eventually forming the Colorado Plateau. Erosion started 70 million years ago when the Colorado River began cutting its channel through all the layers of rock exposed in the Grand Canyon. Finally, the Colorado River sliced cleanly through the thick uniform Redwall limestone layer at Mile 32, forming this spectacular, red-stained cliff in Marble Canyon.
We humans are just a blip on our Earth’s timeline, only a minute part of our beloved planet’s long exciting history.
Across the River from Paradise, Mile 32 | 24x48, oil on canvas
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, the People’s Choice Award in 2021, and the Artist’s Choice Award in 2022. 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 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.
Evening at the Grand Canyon lasts only for a few precious minutes. Especially for the artist. Earlier in the day, the flat colors of midday gave way to the first blue shadows of afternoon before lengthening into the long eclipses of evening. Now, the sunlight has become horizontal, and the foreground trees and rocks fade into a dark mass that frames the last light on the golden temples. And the shadows lengthen into night.
When Shadows Grow Long | 24x30, acrylic on canvas
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 not working in the studio, she spends her time outdoors, driving through mountain ranges, fishing lakes and streams, and hiking through canyons, gathering 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. Michelle won the People’s Choice Award at both the 2022 and 2023 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Best of Show at the 2021 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Zion National Park Invitational. Her artwork was featured on the cover of Arizona Highways Magazine in January 2023.
One evening, I took a drive to Lipan Point, hoping to get some photos of the sunset. When I got there, the sky was full of clouds, the wind was blowing hard, and I could see the threat of rain in the distance. I felt a bit discouraged but decided to sit and wait, feeling that if I were patient enough, something amazing was going to happen. I could see a storm developing far across the canyon but knew that if the sun could find a way to break through, then it would all be worth it. Lo and behold, it happened! As the storm started rolling its way toward me, the sun shined through the rain creating the most beautiful curtains of gold while reflecting its colors onto the river below. This was the moment I was waiting for! Not only was I able to get some great photos, but I witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets I had ever seen in my life from one of the most beautiful places in the world. I walked away that night with an experience I will never forget and one that will stay in my memory forever. I know I can never fully capture that moment, but I hope that my painting can give the viewer just a taste of what I experienced that day.
Looking into the Storm | 24x36, oil on canvas
ROBERT GOLDMAN
Prescott, Arizona
Robert Goldman is a landscape painter known for his bold use of color and light. A professional artist for 50 years, he attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and has studied with numerous artists, including Ray Vinella, John Asaro, Wolf Kahn, and more. Robert has received many awards for his work, including an award from Wayne Thiebaud at the Lana International Watermedia Competition in 2000, Best of Show at the 2019 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, second place in the Fall 2019 Oil Painters of America Online Showcase, and first place in the 2021 Oil Painters of America Fall Showcase. His work has been shown at the Booth Museum in Georgia, the Phippen Museum in Arizona, the St. George Art Museum in Utah, and the San Diego Museum of Art in California, and he has had four concurrent successful one-man shows at the Maynard Dixon Legacy Museum/Thunderbird Foundation in Mt. Carmel, Utah.
In this painting, I have depicted a mule team with riders as they approach the tunnel near the beginning of the Bright Angel Trail. In the afternoon, I observed the beautiful, reflected light that bathed the inside of the tunnel.
This popular trail originates on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and is used by both hikers and mules as it descends 4,380 feet to the Colorado River and beyond.
Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon | 24x30, oil on canvas
BRUCE A. GÓMEZ
Denver, Colorado
Bruce A. Gómez is entirely self-taught and works exclusively in pastels. He has developed his unique style using Arches watercolor paper. His subjects range from the landscapes of the Southwest including the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Zion, Telluride, Montana, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Canadian Rockies to cityscapes of London, Rome, Denver, and New York.
In the last decade Bruce has turned his focus to competitive plein air painting, having won Artist’s Choice, People’s Choice, and Best of Show in Grand Canyon, Zion, and Sedona. He has taught workshops in Denver, Telluride, Moab, London, and Italy and has been the featured judge in several national events. His works are in several international corporate collections.
On the South Rim, huddled against a sudden squall and intense wind when suddenly the rain stopped, the wind slowed to a whisper, and from my perch the canyon,
Which had been almost a whiteout, slowly revealed its romantic shroud as the foggy mist silently coiled up and out of the depths only to bend back upon itself in a moment, reminiscent of the great art of Hokusai’s The Wave.
I was in a silent wave splashing noiselessly all around me.
Hokusai’s Wave | 37x37, pastel
GREGORY HEIL
Parker, Arizona
Greg Heil started making art in high school with no proper education until he reached college, where he was taught in a classical, traditional manner but had a mentor who had studied with Picasso and was a professor of painting at Washington State University. Greg sought out teaching to pursue art and to have an income. Halfway through studying for his bachelor’s degree, he dropped out to pursue being an artist full-time. Fast forward to today, and Greg’s work can be seen in galleries in New Mexico and Arizona. Mostly a landscape artist, he also pursues personal figurative work that is inspired by the rural impoverished cities he has lived in and is continually searching for what is artistically valid and what will push the world forward to a greater understanding of our purpose on the planet.
As an artist, seeing what makes a scene beautiful and worth painting is important to bringing forth those elements in the best light. In this painting, I used a color and light gradient that flows across the canvas horizontally. The element of the sun rising along the canyon peaks creates a movement that transcends not only light but time. In a sense, you are visually seeing a segment of time—this being the sunrise all within a static single image. My process is the use of digital image manipulation, grid, and then traditional processes of self-critique, revision, and repainting of composition and color. The rim is always an engaging place where life clings like the tree in this painting that has been for generations—again, a reference to time in a place older than we can imagine. Time flows in many ways in the Grand Canyon.
Canyon through the Pinyon | 30x42, oil on canvas
PEGGY IMMEL
Taos, New Mexico
Peggy Immel is an award-winning artist whose works have been featured in national exhibitions. 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 Master Signature member of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, a Signature Member of Plein Air Artists Colorado, and a Signature Member of American Women Artists. Most recently, Peggy’s work received the Best of Show Trustees Award at the 2022 Millicent Rogers Museum Annual Miniature Exhibition in Taos, NM, and First Place in the 2021 Sedona Plein Air Festival. Her work has been showcased in Santa Fean Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, and Art of the West. She is represented by Wilder Nightingale Fine Art (Taos, New Mexico) and Sorrel Sky Gallery (Santa Fe, New Mexico and Durango, Colorado).
In the vast expanse of our world, there are few sanctuaries that inspire us to introspection as profoundly as the Grand Canyon. Sitting on the rim and gazing out at the distant horizon, we’re reminded of the infinite and our humble place within it. Along the western edge of Yaki Point lies a hidden gem, a secluded ledge that is home to a resilient pinyon pine, weathered and twisted by the harsh elements. This haven for reflection has become my favorite place to plein air paint in the canyon. And its resident bonsai of a tree has become a cherished muse and friend. This year, to honor that special connection, I decided to make the pinyon and the vast space of the canyon it oversees the subject of my studio painting.
Inner Space | 24x30, oil on linen
RUSSELL JOHNSON
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Russell Johnson was born and raised in Arizona, enjoying the closeness of the outdoors growing up in Prescott. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts from Prescott College. He regularly participates in Prescott art events, including the Phippen Museum Western Show and Sale, Prescott Area Studio Tour, and the Prescott Plein Air Festival. Russell has always been captivated by the Grand Canyon and strongly felt the place inspired him to become an artist. His first backpacking trip was on the South Bass Trail at age 13 during a warm June weekend. Russell was hooked and returned for annual multi-day hiking trips in the Grand Canyon. In recent years, he has packed in an oil painting set to capture the hiking experience in plein air from around the campsites inside the Grand Canyon. Russell lives just a couple of hours from the South Rim. This closeness has its advantages, which he fully uses to view the Grand Canyon in all kinds of lighting and weather.
This painting was an inspiration from last year’s Celebration of Art. I set up to capture the sunrise at Pipe Creek Vista and was amazed at the filtering light from the morning sun through the clouds. The early lighting events at the Grand Canyon never cease to inspire me. You never know what will happen! These first light moments can be fleeting. The quiet feeling that I experienced while watching this sunrise was both meditative and awe-inspiring. I referenced the plein air painting for color notes and photos from that morning for this studio painting, which represents the impression of beholding the drama of light of a sunrise at the Grand Canyon. Vibrant color applied with a palette knife creates energetic textures to convey an impression of this amazing sunrise.
Aglow | 40x24, oil on canvas
MARGARET LARLHAM
San Diego, California
Drawn primarily to the landscapes of the American Southwest, Margaret Larlham regularly paints in the chaparral and deserts near her home in San Diego or on her travels through the United States, England, Tanzania, and her homeland of South Africa. She is a multi-disciplinary artist and has enjoyed a productive career as a professor of theater and dance, first at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa, and later at San Diego State University, while constantly practicing as an outdoor painter.
She was honored to achieve Eminent Pastel Artist status in the International Association of Pastel Societies this past year. She received the Gold Award at the IAPS Master Circle Exhibition 2022, the Best of Show Award at 2022’s Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and First Place and Artist’s Choice Awards at the Borrego Springs Invitational Plein Air 2023 Festival.
The Grand Canyon edge is a suspended vantage point to experience and absorb the intensity of its changing sky above, the sweep of the horizon on eye level, and the dizzying drop to chasms below.
On a day when clouds formed and dissolved below the horizon line, my bearings shifted to an apprehension of some ancient time. I sought a presence that a tree might hold. Drifting vapors unveiled glimpses of the eroded basin of the earth, like forgotten truths. A warm heart glowed despite the cool wreathing atmosphere of this mysterious natural cauldron.
Realm of Mystery | 20x16, pastel
KIRK LARSEN
Hicksville, New York
Kirk Larsen has been painting since childhood and never met a medium he didn’t like. He has been recognized with over 191 awards in oils, acrylic, watercolors, gouache, drawing, colored pencil, mixed media, pen & ink, photography, and sculpture. Kirk has had over 63 solo shows and participated in a multitude of juried art shows, and his work is in museums and private collections across the U.S., England, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and more. He has taught at The New School/Parsons School of Design, is a film and television actor, an avid sailor, a musician, a writer, and a mentor and motivational speaker. Kirk is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America.
The canyon is a place where color defines each day and can vary from moment to moment. Each color, from muted pastels to almost black light iridescence, carries with it an emotion and a memory. On the final evening of my last painting excursion to the south rim, I made the journey out to the Desert View Watchtower in hopes of a good sunset. After a long week, I had witnessed and painted many sunsets, but this one was for my spirit and soul with the brushes left behind. I was hoping this would create a lasting goodbye for that trip. The canyon did not disappoint. There was so much color and delicate drama coupled with serenity that it was indeed an emotionally fulfilling conclusion to a beautiful trip. The vivid palette dances with strong brushstrokes, coalescing into this rhapsody of a command performance.
Essence of a Good Day | 18x24, oil on canvas
JOHN LASATER
Siloam Springs, Arkansas
John Lasater has cultivated an artistic journey marked by growth and exploration. Transitioning from bold impressionistic strokes to a more contemplative and simplified approach, his work captures the nuances of light, shadow, and color with a sense of curiosity and playfulness. As a respected member of the plein air community, John’s talent has been recognized with numerous awards at prestigious events. Notably, he has been invited to join the esteemed Plein Air Painters of America, a testament to his standing in the artistic world. Despite these accolades, John remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of his craft, constantly seeking new challenges and avenues for artistic expression. Beyond his personal artistic endeavors, he is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience with others. Through teaching and writing, he aims to inspire future generations of artists and foster a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. With a profound love for art history and an unwavering commitment to his craft, John’s journey serves as a testament to the transformative power of creativity and the enduring pursuit of artistic excellence.
In my painting of the Grand Canyon from the South Kaibab trail, I’ve aimed for a straightforward portrayal of this iconic landscape. The morning sun casts a warm glow on the canyon’s cliffs, bringing out their natural colors. If you look closely, you’ll notice a few hikers on the trail, adding a sense of scale to the vastness of the canyon. I’ve tried to capture the rugged beauty of the terrain without embellishment, focusing on the simple yet striking features that make the Grand Canyon so breathtaking. This painting is meant to evoke the feeling of standing at that viewpoint, taking in the vastness and beauty of the canyon on a clear morning hike.
South Kaibab Descent | 30x40, oil on linen
DEBORAH McALLISTER
Cottonwood, Arizona
Deborah McAllister has been creating art since childhood and decided by age 13 to be a professional artist. After high school, she attended the Colorado Institute of Art and worked in graphic design and illustration before pursuing a fine art career. Inspired by the landscape, she especially enjoys traveling and plein air painting. After a period of full-time RV travel, she settled in the Verde Valley of Arizona, which allows easy access to some of America’s most dramatic landscapes, including the Grand Canyon. She is inspired by the beauty of God’s creation and the effects of weather and light on the landscape.
Deborah has exhibited with Women Artists of the West and Oil Painters of America, among others, and is represented by Mary Williams Fine Arts and Rijks Family Gallery.
After chasing shadows all day, one last chance comes at sunset. The overlooks along the rim fill with observers; I make my choice of location. The scene changes every minute at the canyon, depending on time of day, clouds, and weather. I love the grandeur and layers of the rocky views. This studio painting represents a slice of time from Yaki Point before the shadows encroach and the canyon is swallowed by evening.
Tranquility | 24x30, oil on canvas
TIM McDAVID
Houston, Texas
Tim McDavid is an artist, adventurer, entrepreneur, educator, and collector with a love for adventure and nature. He has traveled to over 105 countries, and has snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, elephant-trekked the jungles in Thailand, hiked the World Heritage sites in Australia, rode camels in the desert in Egypt, ice-climbed glaciers on Mount Blanc, traversed Victoria Falls on foot, and sailed Cape Horn. He has painted en plein air in the remote Okavango Delta, received a conservation award from Ducks Unlimited, and appeared in the documentary “Artist in Africa.” His influence comes from his close friend, the late Pierre Mion, a renowned natural history illustrator and painter.
I encountered a group of elk on the South Rim Trail as I walked in the darkness on a freezing winter morning and was inspired by their contrasting form against the canyon behind them. Continuing on, I was intrigued by one location with an unusual fallen tree surrounded in snow, which had a blue hue in the dim light. When the first sunlight crept over the horizon, it slowly illuminated the distant temples and buttes, making a fascinating backdrop. Soon, I was rewarded when some of the elk meandered into view, and a storm intensified in the distance on the North Rim, giving tension to the transforming landscape. I don’t think I have ever encountered a scene more dramatic than the one before me, as the first light gave warmth to the backdrop, and the snow gave a contrasting coolness to the composition. The meandering elk, with their subtle curiosity, blended into the shadows, and patches of golden light glowed like fire behind the silhouettes of the trees and underbrush.
Winter Storm | 30x40, oil on canvas
BONNIE McGEE
St. George, Utah
Although Bonnie McGee attended summer classes at the Art Institute of Chicago as a child, she followed a circuitous path to becoming an artist. A love of writing and literature led to a 13-year teaching career. She left that secure life to follow a different dream—exploring the world on her 33-foot sailboat, completing a 4-and-a-half-year world circumnavigation via Panama and the Cape of Good Hope. In 2009, her book “Voices on the Wind” was published, featuring photos and stories of islanders and their influence on her cultural perspective.
Bonnie circled back to painting after attending a Plein Air Painters of America workshop. Since then, she has studied with major plein air artists and has won awards in various events, including Estes Park, Telluride, Moab, and Steamboat Springs. In 2014, the Plein Air Artists of Colorado awarded her Best of Show. Bonnie is a passionate powder skier, fly-fisher, and former horse endurance rider. She has summited 28 of Colorado’s “Fourteeners” and run 12 half marathons after age 60. She is represented exclusively by Wild Horse in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
A veil of rain obscured the western horizon. I collapsed my tripod and gathered my painting gear. The afternoon at Mohave Point was over. Safe in my car and buffeted by the wind, I waited as the landscape disappeared into gray. After an hour, it brightened, and the setting sun shot through the clouds, forming a double rainbow of “Inspiration.”
Inspiration | 24x36, oil on canvas
JAMES McGREW
Lake Oswego, Oregon
James McGrew recalls childhood family trips to National Parks which inspired early interests in nature and art. He began using his father’s oils at age ten. A background in natural sciences (undergrad degrees in biology, chemistry, geology, and graduate work in environmental education) helped James understand his subjects and carry on the tradition of 19th-century romantic artists whose work helped establish many National Parks.
James prefers to paint directly from life and often hikes, snowshoes, and backpacks several hundred miles a year for deeper connections, unique perspectives, and wildlife encounters. He strives to create paintings that visually portray a scene while also interpreting the emotions of an experience. His paintings hang in collections worldwide, and he has received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art and the Maui Plein Air Invitational. James is featured in several films, including “Yosemite Lightdances,” “Yosemite Peregrines: A Story of Hope,” and “Where Forever is Now.” He is a signature member of the LPAPA and the American Impressionist Society.
In September 2023, following a cloudy day of rain, the setting sun broke through with beams of light streaming up the canyon and illuminating Brahma and Zoroaster temples as rain showers continued. I quickly scrambled to a favorite place below the rim where I have often observed peregrines and condors. I set up to paint a quick little plein air study as the light lasted only a few minutes and rain started falling upon me. That was enough to paint the colors and values and a few quick photographs, which all served as the references for this studio piece, which conveyed the memorable experience.
Sunset Showers | 20x30, oil on linen on birch
BETSY MENAND
Gunnison, Colorado
Betsy Menand’s first Grand Canyon adventure was a hike to Horseshoe Mesa on the Grandview Trail in 1980. In 1984, she was invited to hike down the Nankoweap Trail to join a research river trip on the Colorado River. This turned into 40 years of exploring the Colorado Plateau through hiking, boating, and art. Betsy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting from the University of Denver and has participated in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2020.
I took a river trip of a lifetime last summer.
My 27-year-old son, Bryce, rowed us down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon 225 miles on a 16-day private rafting expedition. Each day the canyon walls stretched higher, and the horizon became cliff tops and incredible blue sky shapes and waves over the boat cooled us.
Day 3 - we stop at a huge riverside cavern filled with soft vermillion-colored sand. We shed our shoes and explore this wondrous place.
Redwall Cavern Mile 33
July 24, 2023
I gathered a lifetime of images to paint from - here is one of them!
Datura at Redwall Cavern | 44x28, acrylic on panel
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 the 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 and 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 King Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
If you spend much time at the canyon, you will know that magical, unexpected things happen all the time.
These are the things that inspire me to paint.
River Dance | 40x28, oil on canvas
ANTON NOWELS
Phoenix, Arizona
Anton Nowels is an accomplished artist whose work has been exhibited on a national level. He is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society. He recently won a Landscape Painting award at the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition.
Anton studied Interdisciplinary Art at Arizona State University, and is a workshop instructor at Scottsdale Artists’ School, Winslow Art Center, and the Tubac School of Fine Art. The Maynard Dixon Legacy Museum in Utah represents Anton’s work and has welcomed him as a guest artist at many events.
“Navajo Point” is a painting of Grand Canyon silhouettes and the Colorado River. Desert View Drive is one of my favorite locations in the park to explore. I paint in an abstract way combining what I see with what I remember. I remember the bright yellow light in the distance and the purple/green silhouettes from the warm light bouncing around the canyon. Navajo Point gives a glimpse of the Colorado River winding through the canyon and provides a composition every landscape painter dreams of.
Navajo Point | 36x36, oil on canvas
JOSE LUIS NUNEZ
San Diego, California
Jose Luis Nunez was born in Mexico City, where he began painting at 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 worldwide and has won awards in the United States and Brazil, where he lived for three years. A U.S. resident since 2002, José takes regular plein air painting trips to Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Europe. He has participated in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2020.
Hopi Point is one of the most amazing views at the Grand Canyon and a great place to witness the sunrise. Portraying this early morning experience had always seemed to me a great challenge: the wide panorama of the north and south rims, the peek at the Colorado River, and the dramatic warm colors of the many cliffs that drop into the gorge compelled me to face this challenge. I’ve been longing to paint it for many years. Finally, it is here: “Hopi Sunrise.”
Hopi Sunrise | 24x36, oil on canvas
JULIA SEELOS
Redwood City, California
As a child, Julia Seelos enjoyed drawing the farms, horses, and landscapes of the countryside where she grew up in Northern Kentucky. She majored in art at the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of Cincinnati, and San Jose State. After a career in retail design, she devoted herself to oil painting. Julia lives on the San Francisco Peninsula with easy access to the coast and the Sierras.
Julia has participated in many prestigious plein-air events, including the Carmel Art Festival, Los Gatos, Sedona, Zion, and the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. She won first place for oils in the Santa Cruz Statewide Landscape Show and Best of Show in the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association “Best of Plein Air” exhibition. She is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society and the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association, and a member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. Her painting, “Crimson Canyon,” is in the permanent collection at El Tovar on the South Rim.
Floating the Colorado River through the canyon is a life-changing adventure. The immenseness of the canyon walls puts our little human problems in perspective and reflects time. We are but visitors through a timeless landscape, carved by eons of wind and rain sculpting the rock. The views from the water change from peaceful quiet to sudden explosions of waves and rapids. Our experience is of little consequence to the powerful forces that have created this Grand Canyon.
Still River Reflections | 18x24, oil on canvas
G. ERIC SLAYTON
Prescott, Arizona
G. Eric Slayton lives just a couple of hours away from the Grand Canyon, which is a place of renewal for him, an inverted cathedral where he can sit quietly with God and Nature. He uses loose brushwork and colorful interpretations for each canvas, whether his subject is the Grand Canyon or a simple rowboat on a pond. He especially enjoys painting scenes with water. When it comes to land and seascape painting, he is most interested in the small intimate areas in nature that seem private or secluded from the mainstream, the places where one feels embraced in solitude and at one with nature. He says, “God has granted us so much beauty in the common place.”
“I feel it is important for an artist to use all their years of knowledge gained through academic study and painting from life to recapture a specific moment in time. I feel a painting should be more than a portrait of the subject matter. It must evoke an emotion that connects with the artist’s heart; only then can it touch the viewer.”
This image, “Early December Snow,” is a view of Mather Point from the South Rim. Mather Point was named in honor of Stephen Tyng Mather, the first director of the National Park Service. It is one of several formations for wonderful viewing advantages of the canyon. Thousands of visitors annually stand on these incredible monoliths taking in this awesome sight. At times it seems like those thousands of people are all there when I know it’s my turn to stand at the railing and absorb the canyon’s grandeur. So, my solution is to be there at sunrise before most are still snug in their warm beds.
Marlene and I try to visit the canyon every year in December. For us, the canyon is a place of renewal, an inverted cathedral if you will, where you can sit quietly with God and Nature. This image was painted in my studio from photos taken a few years ago when there were fewer visitors and the hot cider welcoming.
Early December Snow | 36x30, oil on linen canvas
DAWN SUTHERLAND
Flagstaff, Arizona
Dawn Sutherland is a painter of Southwest landscapes. A teacher in her first life, and a counselor in her second, Dawn began her third life as a painter in 2001. A move from Wisconsin to Arizona in 2004 brought the challenge of painting broad blue skies, distant horizons, canyon mazes, and crazy quilts of wildflowers blanketing the earth.
“Painting outdoors 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. Sometimes, a scene announces itself; sometimes, I hear only a whisper. Those are the images that find their way to my heart and my canvas.”
Dawn lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her work can be found at Arizona Handmade Gallery in Flagstaff and Four Corners Gallery at the Tucson Desert Art Museum. A founding member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, Dawn is also a member of The Nature Conservancy, Grand Canyon Conservancy, Best Friends Animal Society, and Morris Animal Foundation.
A symphony of water music flows through the canyon’s heart.
A geological composition of mixed meter, the Colorado opens with a scherzo of riffles, then measure after measure of bold allegros through the Roaring 20s, followed by a con brio of blaring brass, crashing cymbals, and timpani through pounding rapids with fearsome reputations and legendary names, and finally returning to a meditative andante—a second movement that offers a reprieve, even an apology, for all the earlier cacophony.
In and out of shadow and light, the cadence quickens, then returns to a rhythmic refrain.
Rhythm of the River | 24x36, oil on canvas
PAULA SWAIN
Teasdale, Utah
Paula Swain grew up in the Pacific Northwest, both parents being art teachers. Her father, George Kosanovic, had an MFA from California College of the Arts. Creativity was encouraged every day. Plein air painting was mandatory as Paula and her sister accompanied their father on many weekends outdoors to paint along the coast of Puget Sound or the Oregon Coast. Paula finds inspiration in painting plein air, where the true colors are visible, unlike painting from a photo.
After many painting workshops and stacks of experimental paintings, Paula has a painting style that could be called semi-representational expressionism. She paints using local colors to honor her father’s teachings but also enjoys pushing the color, trying new palette combinations, and edging toward fauvism. She is always working toward sharing the joy of landscape painting.
Along the Colorado River, the light and colors can change so quickly. On one part of the river trip, the fleeting light made the canyon look like glowing gold as the sun lit the canyon walls, reflecting off the water.
The golden warmth seemed super enhanced and exaggerated. When I took the photos of this part of the canyon, I knew I wanted to paint the feeling of this luminescent moment. It is my goal to capture the beauty and awe of God’s beautiful creation on canvas for the viewer to feel this thrill.
Magic Carpet Ride | 30x24, oil on canvas
IN MEMORIAM
PETER HOLBROOK
1940–2016
Born in New York City, Peter Holbrook’s art career began at the age of 7 when he won first prize in an art competition. At 20, he had his first one-person show at the Carpenter Gallery at Dartmouth College, which subsequently sold out. Peter graduated from Dartmouth in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in Art. In 1963, he moved to Chicago and began exhibiting his artwork at the Richard Gray Gallery. In the late 1960s, he taught art at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus.
Looking for a change of pace, Peter moved to Northern California in 1970. In 1978, he visited Grand Canyon for the first time. The southwest landscape offered Peter the spectrum of colors he sought and changed the focus of his career. Over the next four decades, he would have over 50 solo exhibitions of his southwest paintings.
Peter’s artwork has been collected by corporations, colleges and universities, private citizens, and major art museums, including the Smithsonian, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Museum of the Southwest, and more.
Wotan’s Throne from Mather Point, 2015 | 18x24, oil on canvas
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 an 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 for four months, both in-person and online.
Visitors can watch the artists paint along the South Rim as they interpret this vast landscape’s ever-shifting light and shadow, striking landforms, and vibrant colors. In addition, there are free artist demonstrations scheduled at various locations at the canyon during the week.
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.
2024 CELEBRATION OF ART SPONSORS
The 16th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is presented by Grand Canyon Conservancy on behalf of Grand Canyon National Park. Our sponsors provide significant support, and we thank them for their generous contributions.
KAIBAB SPONSORS
Jeanne and Nigel Finney
Lisa Spragens
COCONINO SPONSORS
Terri Kline
Picerne Fine Art Collection Courtesy of Doreen, David, and Danielle Picerne
Mark and Amy Schiavoni
Stephen and Elizabeth Watson
VISHNU SPONSORS
Teresa Gavigan and Larry Besnoff
Loven Contracting
Andrew and Pamela Kerr
grandcanyon.org
WE THANK OUR MEDIA SPONSORS: Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air Magazine TO PURCHASE PAINTINGS FROM CELEBRATION OF ART, VISIT GRANDCANYON.ORG / COA 656068 781934 9 ISBN 9781934656068
