To honor the 150th birthday of Yellowstone National Park, the first park added to the National Park Service, Gallery Wild will celebrate the park with a group exhibition that opens July 1 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The location of the show is fitting: Jackson Hole is a famous destination for parkgoers using Yellowstone’s south entrance. 
Patricia A. Griffin, Morning Traffic, oil on linen, 20 x 30"
“One hundred and fifty years ago the United States made one of the best decisions in history when it comes to the natural world by protecting Yellowstone, the first of many parks to come,” says gallery owner and artist Carrie Wild. “To celebrate the 150th anniversary of our parks, we have invited all of our artists to join together for a collaborative show that shares the never-ending beauty, adventure, admiration and magical moments experienced in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.”
Artists in the show include Wild, Silas Thompson, Jenna Von Benedikt, Julie T. Chapman, George Hill, Doyle Hostetler, Patricia A. Griffin, Aaron Hazel, Meagan Blessing, Larry Moore, Michelle Sarantopulos, Lauren Sarantopulos, Caleb Meyer and others. 
Julie T. Chapman, Mischief Managed, oil, charcoal and acrylic on panel, 40 x 30"
Doyle Hostetler, Dust to Dust, oil on canvas panel, 40 x 60"
Griffin not only enjoys painting in the parks, her studio is part of one. “I have recently acquired a studio nestled in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Moose, otter, bear, bison, elk and cougar are my neighbors,” she says. “It has taken me 33 years of traveling from Maine to Hawaii, painting 30 different national park’s landscape and animal inhabitants to get to this point. The raw beauty of our national parks, nature unencumbered by human design, has offered me a plethora of inspiration. Heading into a national park I always have my camera accessible. The possibility is high of having a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounter.”
Nealy Riley, Geyser Field, acrylic, gold leaf and resin on panel, 12½ x 16½"
The artist adds that her first park experience was Sequoia National Park in California, and her first art experience in a park was at Yosemite. “It was eye candy and set my career on path with the sale of a five-foot oil painting of Lake Jenny between the granite monoliths,” Griffin says.
Chapman’s first experience in a national park was during college when she visited Acadia National Park in Maine while she was working for IBM. Many other parks all around the country would soon follow. What brings her back to them is the abundance of wildlife. “I enjoy seeing any wildlife whenever I’m out and about, but predators—wolves, coyotes and bears—are a special thrill,” she says. “Knowing how challenging humans make life for predators, and how precarious their existence is (especially in a changing climate), adds meaning to every encounter with them. The nature of the food web means there are far fewer predators than herbivores, making sighting the former all the more special.” —
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