Wild Places

Collector's Focus: Painting the National Parks

By John O’Hern

Thomas Moran (1837-1926) went to the Yellowstone region in 1871 on the Hayden Geological Survey. His painting, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1872, was purchased by the federal government and was instrumental in convincing congress to establish Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872. The following year he accompanied John Wesley Powell’s geological survey of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Moran said, “Of all places on earth the great canyon of Arizona is the most inspiring in its pictorial possibilities.”

Amery Bohling Fine Art, Moran Point, oil, 30 x 40", by Amery Bohling.

Moran Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is named after him, although some say it is named after one of his painter brothers, Peter. It is a favorite site for many painters at all times of day and in all kinds of weather.

Amery Bohling comments, “Moran Point is something I have painted so many times. It is such a stunning location. The rock formations and the distant canyon come together to make a beautiful composition that occurs naturally.” Her painting Moran Point, gives the rocky promontory a presence against the vastness of the canyon. It rises up proudly along the rim.

Mountain Trails Galleries Sedona, The Final Light, oil, 20 x 30", by Bill Cramer.

An Arizona native, she studied painting at the University of Arizona and studied plein air painting in France. She finds that the canyon provides “a limitless supply of inspiration.” She paints plein air studies on site, augments them with photographs and creates the majority of her paintings in the studio. She expresses “a desire to paint the landscape in its natural state and to preserve these beautiful locations for others to enjoy and future artists to visit.”

Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Light of a New Day, oil, 24 x 40", by Bill Cramer.

In his painting The Final Light, Bill Cramer backs up a bit, places a gnarled tree in the left foreground to add to the sense of depth and, taking a slightly higher vantage point, places the rock formation more into the context of the canyon. Both painters demonstrate atmospheric depth by softening the distant buttes in the canyon.

Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Night Watchman, oil on canvas, 22 x 28", by Mick McGinty.

Cramer grew up in California and received his fine arts degree from California State University Long Beach. He and his wife moved to Prescott, Arizona, to be near the landscapes both enjoy. The physical experience of a landscape is as important to him as its visual aspects. He says, “Any landscape worth painting is more than the obvious visual elements. The push of an evening breeze, the feel of sun-baked sandstone, the scent of sagebrush or the sound of a raven suddenly overhead are examples of the many unseen elements that inform my work. I’m satisfied when a painting is as rich as the landscape that inspired it. My goals are to keep exploring the Southwest’s wild places, search for new ideas and express what I find exciting about landscapes and about painting.”

Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Escalante Route, acrylic gouache on claybord, 10 x 30", by Betsy Menand.

Moran, too, fully experienced the life of the lands that are now national parks, waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a wolf “crunching the bones of a rabbit we had eaten.”

Bohling and Cramer echo Moran’s modus operandi. “In working I use my memory,” he wrote. “This I have trained from youth, so that while sketching I impress indelibly upon my memory the features of the landscape and the combinations of coloring so that when back in the studio the watercolor will recall vividly all the striking peculiarities of the scenes visited.”

Dawn Sutherland, The Calm Before, oil, 18 x 24"

Darcie Peet, Stormlight Glimmer, Glacier National Park, oil, 20 x 24"

Wild Horse Gallery, Trail Ridge Road, oil, 24 x 30", by Jean Perry.

Wild Horse Gallery, Nocturnal Eruption, oil, 18 x 28”, by Tom Lockhart.

This special section calls attention to the artists that celebrate national parks through their painterly creations. Continue reading to visit the minds behind breathtaking masterpieces.

This year marks the 12th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art at the Grand Canyon National Park from September 12 to September 20, where visitors have the opportunity to watch artists paint along the South Rim. There will also be free artist demonstrations scheduled at various canyon locations.

Trailside Galleries, Notchtop Mountain, oil, 40 x 30", by Lanny Grant.

Wild Horse Gallery, String Lake, oil, 9 x 12", by Richard Galusha.

Trailside Galleries, The Last of September, Moraine Park, oil on board, 12 x 24", by Michael Godfrey.

Cramer will be a returning artist to the event. “In the predawn hours, the artist arrives at the South Rim and sets up his easel with anticipation,” he states. “If nothing else, creating art, like planting a seed, is an act of optimism. Visitors from around the world gather too. Sunrise at the Grand Canyon is a time of great beauty, and for many, a time of renewal. Everyone watches.”

Elizabeth Dryden, Pronghorn Canyon, mixed media, 36 x 36".Visitors will also see Western landscape artist Mick McGinty, along with painter and adventurer Betsy Menand. McGinty’s piece Night Watchman is an example of re-creating the drama and feeling behind his visits to the canyon; the lighting on the rock formations that have always stuck with him. Menand loves to paint and sketch images gathered from her outdoor adventure photographs. She adds, “Exploring the wild landscapes and national parks of the Southwest is where you’ll find me.”

The Grand Canyon inspires many others such as Dawn Sutherland from Flagstaff, Arizona. “Whether it’s hiking the trails or floating through Grand Canyon’s depths, this place invites and challenges me to represent it more beautifully and truthfully each time I approach a canvas,” she explains. “The canyon provides an endless source of challenge and inspiration. I paint the scenes that call to me—that move me. There is nothing quite like being there. A work of art should capture that same feeling.”

Painter Darcie Peet expounds on her process in stating, “So valuable to me in exploring and painting the national parks and other backcountry places have been the many folks
I meet at art shows or out on the trail hiking. The telling of stories and the exchange of ideas with others we meet—learning about experiences or trails others have taken perhaps with a unique vista, or a high mountain lake…Along with light, mood and a strong sense of place, it is these feelings and experiences that I strike to capture in my work.”

William G. Smith, Teton Early Snows, oil on board, 16 x 20"

Many of the artists represented by Wild Horse Gallery participated in the Arts for the Parks contest when it was active, and several were award winners. The gallery also carries many of the Rocky Mountain Plein Painters who painted for years in both the Rocky Mountain National Park and the Grand Teton National Park.

“Experiencing the extraordinary beauty of our national parks is always an inspiration for an artist,” says gallery owner and artist Shirley Stocks. “For many it brings back memories of childhood family vacations and is a lifelong dream come true to visit a place they have only seen photos. For landscape artists, the wonder of these special places quenches their soul and provides unlimited inspiration. They have to paint it!”

Stocks says, “Collectors often are drawn to scenes that inspired the artist for the same reasons, memories of childhood, a place they have always wanted to visit, or a special feeling of connection to the land. To collect paintings of our parks is collecting a little bit of the history and legacy of the wild places this country has to offer.”

Elizabeth Dryden honors the national parks with her non-traditional Western pieces. “I’m always drawn to creating works that provoke and inspire, says Dryden. “I love not conforming to traditional work.” Dryden finds that her genre is collected by those who also love the West as much as she does, and don’t conform to the ordinary.

Her piece Pronghorn Canyon is full of color and whimsy, while still delivering an important message. “I find the enchanting flora and fauna in the southwest to be a metaphor describing those who persevere and don’t give up even through the hardest of times…This toughness and strength, combined simultaneously with nature’s grace and beauty creates a paradox that inspires my creativity.”