Above are a few candid shots from my river trip through the Grand Canyon this year. We had a great group of artists and mostly good weather. Hmm... it would appear the sun has turned some of my whiskers 'blonde' ;-)
This year the trip started with a bang as we had a day of cold rain and howling wind. On the plateaus not too far above, there was actually snow accumulating. Brrrr. The next day we had wind, and then it was beautiful for the most part. Everyone got a lot of painting done, and we hiked some side canyons, even swimming under a small waterfall one afternoon.
We saw a lot of wildlife -- mule deer, big horn sheep, including one our captain estimates was only a couple days old, and a ram with one of his horns busted off from a fight we guessed. We saw California condors several times, turkey vultures, several osprey, one flew by with a fish in its talons. There was a flotilla of tiny birds, not sure what they were, and for the first time ever down there, I saw three ibis, very interesting birds. There were little lizards of all kinds, and lots of small trout in the water, but we only saw one native humpback chub, along with a few seemingly well-fed catfish.
Another interesting aspect of the trip was simply the fact that we were all 'unplugged' for 10 days. Imagine turning off your phone and computer for that long? Our only music was the sound of the river environment -- no traffic, beeps, dings or alerts. Just ourselves and nature. It really makes one stop and think about how much time we spend really living vs. inhabiting our virtual lives. I've resolved to spend even less time on social media and more time out seeking new adventures. I invite you to join this quest to whatever degree you can.
Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona - I'll be doing a painting demo in the gallery on Sunday, May 25 from 1 - 4pm. Stop in and say hello if you're in the area. I've only been in this gallery for a few months, so any support is much appreciated. They have a nice selection of my recent Grand Canyon work at the moment.
I'll be delivering a couple of paintings of the Verde River to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in the next week. The show is about raising awareness for the Verde River and includes several invited artists. It runs from June 15 to November 30, 2014 in Terminal 2. It should be seen by a lot of people and I'm pleased with the paintings I'll have in the show.
I've had two more paintings curated into The Phippen Museum this spring. The Phippen is a prestigious museum of Western art located in Prescott, Arizona. The theme of this show is "Architecture in Art." The show runs from March 8 to July 13, 2014.
In other museum news, on June 21, the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff will host their annual Gala/Auction/Dinner. I've been invited back again to have works in both the silent and live auctions that evening. It's always an exciting night and I'm honored to be participating again in this well-run event.
As always, I have some great new pieces in the studio. Come on by and see for yourself if you can make it to Jerome. Many of my new landscapes are posted here on
my website. Let me know if you see something that might look great on your walls or just click the new 'Buy Now' button found under each painting when you open to the larger view.
Koya Klips
Koya & Barney playing tuggie with some old plastic drip system she dug up. Who me? Don't I look too innocent to do such a thing?
