All Rights Reserved. Published 2025. 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 Amy Hitt and Mindy Riesenberg
Photos by: Dennis Alvarez, Raymond Chee, Lauren Cisneros, Fresh Focuses Photography, Grand Canyon Conservancy, Grand Canyon National Park, Abi LaFleur-Shaffer, Lear Miller, Off Madison Ave, David Wallace
ISBN: 978-1934656-15-0
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
Mark Chagall said, “Great art picks up where nature ends.” Each year, Grand Canyon Conservancy brings this spirit to Grand Canyon National Park through its annual Celebration of Art. The artists actually do better than picking up where nature ends. They fully capture the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon onto canvas and into our imaginations.
My husband Scot and I keep buying art every year from Celebration of Art, even though we wonder where we will be able to find the space on our walls to display it. We always find the space. We always find the space because we are always inspired by the fabulous art. The different vantage points the artists choose, the different styles of painting, and the different palettes all make our walls spring to life with the fully captured nature of the Grand Canyon.
Managing Grand Canyon National Park is a challenging responsibility. Each day I endeavor to remind myself of the importance of my responsibility by seeing it, by being with it, by breathing it in. I remind myself of my responsibility every day by walking to work along the South Rim Trail. This simple act of allegiance also inspires me to do my best to manage this special place every day. Then I go home, and I see the source of my responsibility and inspiration on my walls every night.
I cannot get away from the canyon. Nor do I want to get away from it. The art I have purchased dependably helps to ground me in my duties.
Over the years of my superintendency, Scot and I have also gotten to know the artists. Each of them is a treasure. They capture the canyon so well because they spend time studying it, learning it, loving it.
participating artists
The love the artists hold for the canyon is something to which those of us who also love the canyon can relate and appreciate. The canyon is timeless. So, too, is the art.
Come to the Grand Canyon for Celebration of Art. Be inspired by the artists and their art. And, maybe, take a small part of the Grand Canyon home with you so you, too, can always be inspired.
Superintendent Ed Keable at the 2022 Celebration of Art with
INTRODUCTION
Elizabeth Silkes, CEO Grand Canyon Conservancy
Each year, Grand Canyon reveals itself anew —through the eyes, hearts, and hands of artists who journey here to capture its timeless beauty. We are honored to welcome you to the 17th annual Celebration of Art, where creativity meets canyon, and inspiration finds a home.
This beloved tradition has become more than an event; it is a vibrant community of artists, collectors, park lovers, and visionaries from around the world, all drawn together by a shared reverence for one of Earth’s greatest wonders. This year, we proudly build on that legacy, expanding beyond plein air painting to embrace the rich diversity of artistic expression—basketry, photography, and silver smithing now join our celebration, inviting visitors to experience the canyon’s magic through many cultural and creative lenses.
Inside these pages, you’ll find more than just artwork—you’ll find voices. Each brushstroke, weave, and shutter click tells a story of connection to place, to history, to spirit. And for the first time ever, this remarkable collection will be available for an extended engagement, both online and at the historic Kolb Studio, through April 26, 2026. This expanded access means more opportunities to discover the perfect piece that speaks to you—and to bring home a lasting piece of the canyon’s soul.
Every purchase supports a visionary project—a dedicated art venue at Grand Canyon National Park, where all forms of Grand Canyon-inspired art will be celebrated for
generations to come. For years, GCC’s Celebration of Art event has not only honored the canyon’s natural beauty through the eyes of artists but has also served as a vital fundraising effort to bring this long-envisioned space to life. Thanks to the continued support of generous donors and visionaries, that dream is taking shape—now with the promise of permanence.
Set within the historic Grand Canyon National Park Headquarters, a landmark of the Mission 66 era, the future art venue will be a beacon for creativity and cultural exchange. It will host rotating exhibitions, nurture young artists, elevate Indigenous voices, and offer space for Artist in Residence programs and community engagement year-round. This will be a place where imagination and nature converge—a place for all who are moved by the canyon’s grandeur to gather, learn, and create.
At the heart of this vision are Dawn and Stan Sutherland. Longtime supporters of GCC, their dedication has culminated in the creation of the Dawn and Stan Sutherland Art Venue Endowment , a fund designed to provide ongoing support for the venue’s maintenance and growth.
To our sponsors, volunteers, partners in the National Park Service, art patrons, and—most importantly—to the gifted artists whose work continues to inspire and elevate us: thank you. Your passion brings this celebration to life and reminds us that in Grand Canyon, art is not just observed—it is deeply felt.
We invite you to immerse yourself in this year’s Celebration of Art and to join us in shaping a future where the canyon’s story continues to be told—through color, texture, sound, and soul.
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.
If you’re passionate about art and inspired by Grand Canyon, now’s your chance to be part of something extraordinary. Join Grand Canyon Conservancy in supporting the creation of dynamic art experiences in the park—interactive events with talented artists, enriching educational programs, and the vision for a permanent art venue on the South Rim. Your membership helps bring art to life at Grand Canyon.
Become a member today! Join at grandcanyon.org, at any Grand Canyon Conservancy park store, or call (800) 858-2808. If you are already a member, we thank you!
STEVE ATKINSON
Prescott, AZ
Steve Atkinson infuses his paintings with unique stories that excite him, and he sees himself as much a storyteller as an artist. The American West holds a special place in his heart and on his canvas. He loves the action, as well as the quiet contemplation of cowboys, cattle, and wildlife. Expressing the historical authenticity of working cowboys is where his passion lies. While most days Steve can be found in his studio, his enthusiasm for painting on location has made him a better artist because it requires that he paint through the distractions of changing light, wind, and curious but interesting passersby. His on-location projects have taught him to trust his quickly made decisions concerning values, color, and atmospheric perspective. Steve’s wife, Ann, is his studio manager and muse.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a red-tailed hawk riding the thermals over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I was there painting with some of my friends, and I almost dropped my brush! Not only did it fly near me, but it landed on a pinyon pine not too far from where I was standing. I must have watched it for a good long time, because when I pulled my attention back to what I was painting, the lighting had changed so much that I had to start over. There are just some experiences in our lives that we will never forget, and for me, this is one of them. It’s most definitely the inspiration for my painting, On the Edge of Forever . Though, this version puts the action much more front and center than what I experienced that day. Nevertheless, it’s the way I choose to remember it in my mind. After having done some research on this beautiful raptor, I found out that it’s one of the largest birds in North America and the most common hawk, but if you’ve seen one flying, you know, there’s nothing common about them.
On the Edge of Forever | 24x30, oil on linen panel
ELIZABETH BLACK
Boulder, CO
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. To understand her subject better, she frequently paints on location but produces her large, finished works in the controlled environment of her studio. She strives to pass along some of the many gifts the canyon has given to her. Elizabeth has won numerous awards, including Best of Show (2020) and Artists’ Choice (2024) at Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. She is represented by Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder, Colorado, and the Sugarman-Peterson Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Matkatamiba is one of the many “water-canyons” that flow into the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. These water-canyons’ drainages are quite small and drought-y, so it is surprising that they all contain large streams of year-round water. Up on the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon, when snow or rain falls, it percolates through the fractured limestone bedrock of the plateau, traveling down through underground caves and pools, until it reaches an impermeable layer of shale. There it travels horizontally, searching for a weak spot in its underground prison, until it finally gushes into a water-canyon as a spring. The underground aquifers and the springs they support give these water-canyons much larger effective drainages, comprised of hundreds of miles of the Colorado Plateau. Their bountiful waters sculpt beautiful channels and add the magical sound of falling water to an otherwise harsh, dry environment, just as they do at Matkatamiba. “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” —Loren Eiseley
Matkatamiba 7 Mile 148 | 36x12, oil on canvas
PHILIP ALEXANDER CARLTON
Fruita, CO
Philip Alexander Carlton is a contemporary landscape painter who attempts to redefine what it means to paint “an impression” of the American West. Waiting for the light and color of each scene to be at its most elegant, his plein air paintings capture the passage of time over many hours in the field. Then, in his studio, he combines these experiences from multiple days and locations, exploring the flow of time and evolving colors. This means Philip’s image of a sunrise is the totality of a morning instead of a singular moment. He believes art often transcends the rules of light and color, causing each painting to become an essay on how a photograph alone cannot truly record the vastness of the West. Philip resides in the desert town of Fruita, Colorado. He is a signature member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association.
Nightfall on Avernus captures passing storms at the end of a long summer day. I had just hiked to the river on the New Hance trail, returning to the South Rim not long before sunset. Topping out to the sound of thunder and a brilliant sky, I drove a few miles to Moran Point to take it all in. The atmosphere was something I hadn’t seen before: dim and diffuse reds and yellows as the sun set to the west behind passing storms, while clear skies to the east cast a ghostly blue across the Kaibab Limestone. The title references Roman mythology. Avernus is where one could begin their descent into the underworld of Hades, which I amusedly felt I had just climbed out of after more than nine hours on the trail.
Nightfall on Avernus | 24x36, oil on mounted linen
JOHN D. COGAN
Farmington, NM
John D. Cogan is an American painter whose goal is to capture the splendor of creation in the landscapes of the American West. His acrylic painting style emphasizes color and the transient effects of light using thin underpaintings with thicker finishes. He has participated in Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2009, winning Best of Show (2015 and 2024), the People’s Choice Award (2021), and the Artist’s Choice Award (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 Grand Canyon, the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, Xanterra Corporation, Zion National Park, Bernalillo County, Conoco Phillips, McGraw Hill, San Juan College, Eastern New Mexico University, 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.
A wise landscape painter once noted that “cloud shadows are God’s gift to artists.” The reason is simple: every artist requires the optimal arrangement of light and dark values to establish a pleasing and effective composition. Clouds move all over the sky, with their shadows following in ever new and changing patterns. The fleeting nature of cloud shadows gives me a degree of artistic freedom. I can position these contrasting values where they best serve my needs. I can arrange or rearrange them, ultimately placing them where they conform best to my vision for the painting. There is probably no place where these shadow patterns are more noticeable than over the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon. The arrangements I observed one morning on the South Rim inspired this painting. The formations of Isis Temple and Cheops Pyramid, visible in the middle ground, are highlighted and accented by the dance of the clouds and their shadows below. Through this interplay of light and dark, I invite viewers to experience not just the physical landscape but also the emotional qualities of this magnificent place.
Patterns | 24x30, acrylic on canvas
MICHELLE CONDRAT
Salt Lake City, UT
Michelle Condrat is an award-winning and published artist with a unique painting style some describe as “digital” or “architectural” due to the layering of her linear and blended paint strokes. Her style brings motion and depth while capturing western landscapes with a fresh visual perspective. Michelle won the Zion National Park Invitational Foundation Excellence Award (2014) and the People’s Choice Award (2019), the Cedar Breaks National Monument Plein Air Festival People’s Choice Award (2017), the Sears Dixie Invitational Viewer’s Choice Award (2020) and Purchase Award (2021), and Grand Canyon Celebration of Art Best of Show (2021). Her work was also featured as cover art on an issue of Arizona Highways (January 2023).
The Grand Canyon is one of the most recognizable landscape icons in the world. It is known for its beauty and awe-inspiring grandeur, leaving not just first-time viewers breathless, but all who look upon the canyon’s unique and magnificent presence. Excitement and inspiration are something that I always experience whenever I visit the Grand Canyon, but another feeling is always present as well, and that’s the sense of calmness. It’s as if every worry or negative feeling suddenly melts away, filling me with peace and tranquility. In a world that can feel overwhelming and full of uncertainty, I find my thoughts always going back to the Grand Canyon. I think of its beauty and inspiration, its strength and longevity, and how it always gives me that sense of calmness. It is a part of this world that I can go to and let the challenges of life drift away, like an old friend embracing me with love and telling me that everything is going to be okay. Thank you, my faithful friend.
A Calming Presence | 24x36, oil on canvas
TOM CONNER
Phoenix, AZ
Tom Conner paints in a personal style of Impressionist Realism, always striving to capture truth. From his childhood exploring the muddy creeks and dark pine forests of the Southeast to his adulthood spent in the strikingly different desert and forest landscapes of the Southwest, he has always had a pencil or brush in hand, recording and creating. Tom earned degrees in environmental design and architecture at the North Carolina State University School of Design, but he believes his true arts education began while absorbed in the beauty of nature he observed while hiking and camping. Tom works “en plein air” as a way of slowing down and immersing himself, going beyond a photographic record of a scene and instead painting how it makes him feel. Capturing the effects of sunlight and finding emotional connection with the landscape have proven to be his never-ending pursuits.
Walking along the South Rim, there are many scenes that capture the immensity of the canyon. While it’s a challenge to properly represent the large rock formations and vast distances in paint, I’m often equally interested in the tiny rivulets of a drainage creek or a trail carving its way deeper into the canyon. Small details are almost invisible unless you look for them; my eye will follow these small lines until they disappear around a corner or over an edge. The mystery of where they are headed draws me into the scene, an active participant if only in my imagination. I hope this inspires my viewers to journey into the scene as well.
| 16x20, oil on canvas
Boundless
BILL CRAMER
Prescott, AZ
Bill Cramer is best known for his striking oil paintings of the American West. Growing up in the West, Bill has always been interested in exploring nature and creating art. As a longtime rock climber, he spent much of his youth enjoying the more vertical aspects of the landscape. After receiving a fine arts degree from California State University Long Beach, he moved to Arizona with his wife, Michelle, to be closer to the scenery they both enjoyed. It was there he discovered the delight and challenges of plein air painting, finding balance between the actual scene and his reaction to it. Bill works in a style best described as Impressionistic Realism, where strong brushwork and colors are used to express the vitality and beauty of the natural world. He is only satisfied when a painting is as rich as the landscape that inspired it, painting not precisely what he sees but what he wants the viewer to see.
Plein air painters at the Grand Canyon spend a lot of time standing in one place while creating a painting. During this time, we notice many things that the average visitor doesn’t see. For example, there are many spots along the South Rim where the river is visible. A few visitors who pause to look may notice these river views and occasionally catch a glimpse of a line of rafts on the river. More rarely noticed is that in certain locations and during calm, windless days, you can hear the subtle roar of rapids below and even hear the excitement of river runners as they whoop it up going through them! Up from Below is a view from Pima Point, where I’ve experienced this sound effect multiple times while painting. From that point, Granite Rapids is about two miles out and a mile down. It’s just one of the many aspects that make the Grand Canyon a wonderous place, and why Pima Point is one of my favorite spots to visit along the South Rim!
Up from Below | 24x36, oil on canvas
CODY DeLONG
Bonfim, Portugal
Cody DeLong began his career as a commercial artist in Las Vegas, painting murals, set backgrounds, and hand-lettered signs. Needing a change, he set out on a four-year off-the-grid adventure with his camper, dirt bike, and dog, where he spent time learning to oil paint, inspired by the nature he discovered in remote wooded locations. Incorporating various subjects and painting styles, his work was available for many years at his gallery, Cody DeLong Studio, in Jerome, Arizona. Cody has led eight-day artist rafting trips through the Grand Canyon. During these plein air painting expeditions, participants would paint each morning and evening at camp, braving the rapids in between. Cody is one of the original artists of Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, participating in the event’s first thirteen years and winning First Place (2010) and Artist’s Choice (2015). To artistically reinvent himself, he moved to Portugal in 2021, but he believes the desert Southwest will always feel like home and that the Canyon is in his blood.
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. I feel like I can never learn it all, so each new day is an opportunity to challenge myself to grow in new directions. The result, hopefully, is painterly, with great color, light, and drama. I hope to catch your eye and make you think differently about the scene, and perhaps, about painting. Saddle Camp is one of my favorite camps in the Grand Canyon. I led annual rafting expeditions for artists through the canyon for about fourteen years. It is near and dear to my heart, and I think this painting is one of the best I’ve done yet from river level.
Morning at Saddle Camp | 31.5 x 47.24, oil on canvas
MONICA ESPOSITO-MANN
Grand Junction, CO
Monica Esposito-Mann is a fine artist and registered nurse in western Colorado. She received her degree in Fine Arts from the University of Texas. Inspired by the western landscapes as she travels, Monica primarily paints “en plein air.” She credits the art and life of Georgia O’Keeffe as her strongest influence.
The first time I stood on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon many years ago, it was sunset. The top geological formations of Chinle, Moenkopi, Kaibab, Toroweap, and Coconino Sandstone were lit up, electric on the rim as the sun was setting. Blazing and amazing, gone in minutes. The golden hour is that special moment when the romance and reach of the last rays of the day touch the top layers of the rim. It was transformative for me as a painter, seeking out those moments ever since that first look on the rim. It felt like a walk in time, seeing all the layers and the depth at once. Mesozoic all the way to bottom Precambrian layers, an unfathomable amount of time in one view, this tremendous crack in history. Much like trying to conceive the concept of the universe, looking into the Grand Canyon feels like an unfathomable amount of time that’s hard to grasp. It put me in my place, seeing that view.
The Golden Hour on the South Rim | 20x30, oil on canvas
BRUCE A. GÓMEZ
Denver, CO
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 American West, including Grand Canyon, Sedona, Zion, Telluride, Montana, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Canadian Rockies, to European landscapes in Italy and France, such as Provence, as well as the 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 international corporate collections.
As a self-taught artist, I don’t get hung up on different art philosophies or art movements. Rather than conventions about techniques, I study all my subjects intensely. Year after year, each piece is a step to an everchanging goal of artistic nirvana. Truly, I paint to satisfy an urge to capture a moment’s exquisite atmosphere or that special light that winks out, if a casual viewer winks, and poof! It’s gone. With the most delicate of mediums on paper, a moment in time, a symbolic drop of amber resin, each painting is a glimpse into me or unto you for whichever parallel moment you’ve lived through and have never forgotten.
Grand Canyon Past Mohave with Max | 26x28, pastel on watercolor paper
RICHARD GRAYMOUNTAIN
Navajo Mountain, UT
Richard Graymountain is a renowned basket maker from the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. His work reflects the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Southern Paiute people. Richard was born in Tuba City, Arizona and raised on Paiute Mountain. He has been weaving baskets since he was 13 years old and often utilizes native materials such as willow, yucca, and grasses to create intricate, functional baskets that tell stories that incorporate traditional designs. His artwork has been shown at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial, and the Heard Museum. Richard has served as a tribal government official for the San Juan Southern Paiute and has been a prominent voice at Grand Canyon helping the National Park Service learn how to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge to better manage the land.
There’s a plethora of representations with the baskets. Just the beauty of it. It’s the technique not just the designs. Basket making takes you to another realm. You’re in a state of mind. You’re not creating a design; you’re making a design that has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s a whole different realm. Basketry has a history beyond memory, beyond time immemorial.
Basketry by Richard Graymountain
LINDA GLOVER GOOCH
Mesa, AZ
A Westerner her whole life, Linda Glover Gooch grew up in the warmth of the Southwest. Her art career began with painting the California coastline. Now, her portfolio consists of the western landscape adorned with dramatic thunderheads and evening sunsets. Linda works from life whenever possible, as studying on location is a valuable tool and brings new inspiration to her work while rejuvenating her, giving her the needed fuel to work indoors. A 13-year participating artist at Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, 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.
This painting captures a sunset from Powell Point at the Grand Canyon, where soft pinks from the fading sun meet the deep gray blues of the canyon’s shadowed forms. I was struck by a quiet stillness in the moment—an almost mysterious presence that hung in the vast silence of the landscape.
On the Edge of Twilight | 15x22, oil on canvas
TOM LOCKHART
Colorado Springs, CO
Tom Lockhart is a representational landscape artist who was born and raised in the heart of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. Primarily self-taught, he has been a professional artist for forty years, preferring to paint from life, en plein air, as often as possible. Tom’s work has been included in many exhibitions as well as private and corporate collections and featured in several national art magazines. He has received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the Woodland Park Reserve Our Gallery Winter Art Show (2024), Best Use of Light and Color at the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society International (2024), and Honorable Mention in the Colorado Watercolor Society Watercolor Exhibition, among others.
Every so often, an artist gets to experience life in a slightly different manner than most people. Their vision through life gives them a different perspective on people, wildlife, and nature. We are often looking for that dramatic color, temperature change, or weather condition that allows for a brief encounter with life in a subtle or even bold view of our subject at hand. I am struck by how light affects the object I am seeing, or for that matter, looking for. Light is the key element in most of my paintings. The contrast of color temperatures, warm versus cold, is intriguing to me. My paintings are almost always from a personal encounter with nature. I travel to various locations to paint on site (en plein air) or sketch from my notes and thousands of slides and digital photographs. I am old school in many ways. The art of painting from life, drawing your subject, laying out your composition, and developing your values and colors, is key to a piece of fine art. I am constantly striving to convey a feeling of being there at that moment. Including the observer to experience my experience is paramount, and, hopefully, through my paintings, I can share my vision through life.
Morning Glory Above the Canyon | 20x30, oil on canvas
TIM McDAVID
Houston, TX
Tim McDavid has had a vast professional life, from running four global companies to designing and building the fuel storage system for the NASA Space Shuttle. But his love for art began as a teenage collector and extended into becoming an avid plein air wildlife painter, as he snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, trekked the jungles in Thailand, canoed the Zambezi, hiked the World Heritage sites of Australia, rode in the deserts of Egypt, fly fished in Patagonia, and braved the remote Okavango Delta. Tim was featured in the documentary “Artist in Africa” and received the Ducks Unlimited Conservation Award. In 2024, he was awarded the People’s Choice Award at Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and his self-portrait, The Ghost Painter, was added to the permanent collection of the National Museum of American Illustration.
My favorite viewpoint at the Grand Canyon is Moran Point, named after the famous painter, Thomas Moran. The painting shows the resilience of the rock formation, which resembles an old fortress with its battered and cracked walls and stone sentinel tower withstanding the brutal elements of Mother Nature and time. I started this painting last year, but never quite finished it until recently. I decided to create a very dramatic scene using multiple sources of light and shadows from a hidden full moon, pink hues of a dawn approaching, and the bold, stark flashes of lightning bolts. There is a balance of scale with an equal depiction of both heaven and earth, divided by the storm clouds. A pale light is reflected softly off the Colorado River, glistening as it meanders through the canyon below. The focal point is the ethereal glow reflecting off the rocky point from the celestial moonlight. The clouds play an important part in the composition with their scale and shape replicating the rocks below as both draw the viewer’s eye to the source of the radiated light.
Resilience | 40x30, oil on canvas
JAMES McGREW
Lake Oswego, Oregon
James McGrew began his oil painting career at age ten, inspired by childhood backpacking and camping trips in National Parks. These excursions sparked not only his interest in art but also in nature, later earning degrees in the natural sciences and working as a summer park ranger for more than twenty-five years. Influenced by 19th-century Romantic artists and a desire for preservation, James often paints directly from life, as he encounters wildlife while hiking and backpacking. A member of the California Art Club and the American Impressionist Society, he has won many awards, including Best of Show (2013) and People’s Choice (2014–17) at the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. His work hangs in prominent collections and has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, Western Art Collector, Sunset Magazine , NPR, and numerous films and books.
On my first trip to the Grand Canyon about 22 years ago, I remember exclaiming to my family that the canyon at sunset transforms into a magical scene. During the monsoon season, the sunsets stop most park visitors in their tracks, and many flock to Hopi Point for its spectacular views in all directions. This painting depicts a scene from a favorite place not far from Hopi Point, but below the canyon rim, sheltered from the wind and sounds of the shuttle buses above. I’ve spent many evenings painting here in the company of this gnarly old pinyon pine, watching the thunderstorms dissipate and the muted daytime colors transition into saturated sunset hues. The scene embodies many elements of Grand Canyon for me, including its vastness and depth of geologic layers, monsoonal storms, the carving Colorado River, life precariously hanging on the edge and sculpted by the harsh environment, and, of course, the sun, which provides the energy and illumination of the scene.
Grand Canyon Magic Moment | 24x32, oil on linen on birch
JOSE LUIS NUNEZ
San Diego, CA
Jose Luis Nunez is an international artist who began painting at the age of 13 in his birthplace of Mexico City. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and did his graduate studies in painting and metal engraving at the Academy of San Carlos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Primarily working with oils and acrylics because they allow him to leave emotional brushstrokes, he feels the landscapes of California and the American Southwest deeply resonate with his soul. Jose’s work has appeared in more than 55 individual and group exhibits in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States. An avid plein-air painter, he has participated in Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2020.
For me, sunset at the Grand Canyon is when magic truly comes to life. As the sun dips below the horizon, its golden light dances across the towering formations, while drifting clouds cast ever-changing shadows. Each moment feels fleeting yet unforgettable, leaving an impression that lingers long after. I sought to capture one of these breathtaking scenes in The Majestic Grand Canyon , hoping to share the beauty and wonder I experienced.
The Majestic Grand Canyon | 24x36, oil on canvas
ROBIN PURCELL
Hingham, MA
Robin Purcell is attracted to landscape scenes by nature’s “color harmonies,” which she seeks to imitate by using “shimmering puddles of jewel-like watercolor.” She shares a birthday with William Wendt, her artistic hero, who was also inspired to paint wild open spaces. Robin earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from the University of Connecticut, which led to a career in package design, but it was a love of watercolor that has informed the second act of her artistic life. A member of the American Impressionists Society, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the American, National, and California Watercolor Societies, and the California Art Club, she has painted in many plein air events in California. She became best known in Northern California because of her After the Fire series, documenting the recovery of the Mount Diablo State Park ecosystem. Robin has exhibited extensively in fine art museums, including the Autry Museum of the American West, the USC Fisher Museum of Art, the Hilbert Museum of California Art, the Bowers Museum, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, and the Salmagundi Club.
My paintings are generally inspired by the colors in the landscape and composed with as high a horizon as I dare. The high horizon allows me to depict as much of the drama of the geology as possible. I love the rose, amethyst, gold, and emerald color harmonies. This palette reminds me of the richness of jewels, and I felt like I was painting a sacred image of a natural cathedral. Compositionally, the close values in this painting unite and soften the monumental forms, giving you a way to contemplate the vastness of the canyon. I hope this painting gives you a sense of wonder at what eons of time, oceans of water, and massive geologic forces have created here.
Bright Angel Contemplation | 21x21, watercolor on paper
MATAGI SORENSON
Santa Fe, NM
Matagi Sorensen, a citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation from Camp Verde, Arizona, is a contemporary artist known for his hand-fabricated jewelry and small metal sculptures inspired by his deep connection to the natural environment and his cultural heritage. Raised to work with his hands and source materials from the land, Matagi blends sleek, modern design with themes of sustainability, recycling, and utility rooted in Yavapai-Apache traditions. He earned his BFA from Northern Arizona University in 2011 and his MFA from Arizona State University in 2022, where he further explored metalsmithing and traditional materials like devil’s claw, a fibrous claw-shaped seed pod native to the American Southwest. Matagi has exhibited nationally at premier Native art markets such as the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts’ Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in Phoenix, Arizona, the Autry American Indian Art Market in Los Angeles, California, and the Native American Art Market at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.
When I was growing up, we were outside quite a bit. And in the Verde Valley, there’s the century plant (agave americana), which has these long, black thorns. In the summertime in the morning, when the dew is in the air, the thorns get these little dewdrops on them that look like diamonds. That was my inspiration for this piece.
Spear Point Necklace | diamonds and silver
KATHRYN STEDHAM
Santa Fe, NM
Kathryn Stedham found her true calling, painting the infinite spaces of the American Southwest, after her life-changing move to the West in 2005. Trained as an Academic Realist, Kathryn began her career as a figurative painter. But her interest evolved, through a period of pure abstraction, into the gestural alla prima painting style for which she is known today. This approach combines representational landscape forms with an Expressionistic Modernist sensibility. Kathryn has exhibited as an artist for over 35 years, and her paintings have been featured in public and private collections throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada. In addition to her studio practice, she travels internationally, rides horses, and teaches oil painting workshops. Kathryn currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is represented by Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, Blue Rain Gallery in Durango, Colorado, and Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona.
I decided to paint my memory of my first visit to the Grand Canyon , and the painting is of my very first view. Stopping at Navajo Point at sunset, this breathtaking scene is forever etched in my mind. On this day, the westfacing cliff walls were bathed in a red, orange glow that reminded me of the cochineal found in Navajo weavings, juxtaposed against the deep, cool blue shadows reaching down into the valley 7,500 feet below, where the Colorado River cuts its sharp line in the landscape below. I breathed in the fading light and dreamed of the sun’s return, casting its warmth upon the land.
Navajo Point, Sunset View | 40x30, oil on canvas
DAWN SUTHERLAND
Flagstaff, AZ
Dawn Sutherland is a painter of Southwest landscapes. A teacher in her first life, 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. Dawn teaches beginning painting in the Honors College at Northern Arizona University, and her art can be found at Arizona Handmade Gallery in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Four Corners Gallery at Tucson Desert Art Museum, Tucson, Arizona. She has been invited to show her work in the Cowgirl Up! show at Desert Caballeros Western Museum and has been accepted to the Mountain Oyster Club’s Contemporary Western Art Show for the last three years. Dawn won the Best in Show award at the 2023 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. A founding member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, she is also a member of the Nature Conservancy, Grand Canyon Conservancy, Best Friends Animal Society, and Morris Animal Foundation.
When canyon walls hold their breath;
When the wingbeat of a violet-green swallow barely stirs the water’s surface;
When one is lucky enough, determined enough, blessed enough to enter this sacred place, one might just see Heaven reflected.
Heaven Reflected | 20x24, oil on canvas
PAULA K. SWAIN
Decatur, NE
Paula K. Swain grew up in the Pacific Northwest with art teachers as parents. 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.
To camp along the Colorado River under the deep celestial night sky is one of the most life-changing things that I’ve ever done. To be able to share this extraordinary experience through a painting feels like such a privilege. I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes:
“If you are not going to get a thrill, how can you give someone else one? You must feel the beauty of the thing before you start,” from Hawthorne on Painting.
Seeing and then painting this was definitely a thrill, and I hope others who have rafted the river can feel this too.
Violet & Sapphire | 40x30, oil on canvas
PRISCILLA TACHENEY
Prescott Valley, AZ
Priscilla Tacheney is a member of the Navajo Nation and has been an awardwinning landscape and portrait photographer for more than 15 years. She discovered her passion for the arts as a teenager, pursuing graphic design, then transitioning to digital photography, which led her to capture Arizona’s breathtaking landscapes. With camera in hand, Priscilla is inspired by Mother Earth and Father Sky and cultivates a deep, personal connection with the land. She has sold her work at various Native American art shows, such as the Prescott Indian Art Market, Heard Museum, Santa Fe Indian Market, and other markets across Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. She has received several awards for her work, including an Acquisitions Award at the Southwest Indian Art Fair (2009), First Place at the Southwest Indian Art Fair (2012 and 2014), Best of Show in Photography at the Sedona Arts Festival (2016), and First Place in the Nizhoni Arts Competition at the Navajo Nation Fair (2016 and 2017). Her photos have also been showcased in Cowboys & Indians and Native American Art magazines.
The powerful, relentless Colorado River is revered as a life force and considered a protector of the Navajo people. I discovered the best location to capture the river is at Moran Point. When shooting landscapes, I often seek to incorporate a human subject into my photographs. The Navajo word “Hózhó,” meaning peace, balance, beauty, and harmony, best describes this photograph. To be “in Hózhó” is to be at one with and a part of the world around us.
Hózhó | 24x16, digital on metal
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.
A LEGACY IN EVERY BRUSHSTROKE
The Sutherlands’ Enduring Gift to Grand Canyon Art
Imagine standing in front of a painting so vivid it sweeps you into the depths of Grand Canyon—where each stroke of the brush captures not just the terrain’s rugged majesty but its emotional resonance. Picture a child leaning in close to examine an ancient artifact, their imagination fired by a tangible connection to the centuries of cultures that have flourished on this sacred land. These moments of discovery and reflection are precisely what Grand Canyon Conservancy (GCC) and Grand Canyon National Park hope to cultivate with its upcoming art and exhibit venue at the South Rim.
For years, GCC’s Celebration of Art event has not only honored the canyon’s natural beauty through the eyes of artists but has also served as a vital fundraising effort to bring this long-envisioned space to life. Thanks to the continued support of generous donors and visionaries, that dream is taking shape—now with the promise of permanence.
At the heart of this vision are Dawn and Stan Sutherland. Longtime supporters of GCC, their dedication has culminated in the creation of the Dawn and Stan Sutherland Art Venue Endowment, a fund designed to provide ongoing support for the venue’s maintenance and growth.
“Grand Canyon is a natural wonder—and a natural work of art,” said Stan Sutherland, current GCC Board Secretary. “It’s been inspiring artists for generations, and we want people to continue seeing it that way.”
The Sutherlands’ connection to the canyon is deeply personal. They’ve crossed it rimto-rim and floated its powerful waters down the Colorado River. Dawn, an acclaimed plein-air painter, has been a featured artist in Celebration of Art for over a decade,
and won Best of Show in 2023. Their shared passion for the landscape has not only fueled their adventures but also their commitment to preserving its cultural and artistic significance.
The new art venue will be a vibrant hub for creative and cultural engagement. It is planned to be located at the historic Grand Canyon National Park Headquarters—an iconic Mission 66-era structure completed in 1957—and will house rotating exhibitions, provide space for future collections, and host youth workshops, Artist-in-Residence programs, cultural presentations, and special community events.
“We’ve been waiting so long for a venue like this, and now that it’s finally happening, we’re thrilled to support it,” said Dawn. “I’m honored to have been part of Celebration of Art for 12 years, and to now help shape this new chapter.”
For the Sutherlands, the venue isn’t just about showcasing art—it’s about deepening the connection between the canyon and the people who experience it.
“Art isn’t just a record of a place,” said Stan. “It’s an interpretation of how that place moved the artist. Expressing the canyon artistically helps others understand its emotional and spiritual impact.”
Dawn echoed that sentiment, highlighting the way art can bridge physical limitations. “Not everyone can hike to Devil’s Corkscrew—but I can paint it for them. That way, they still get to experience it.”
The endowment ensures that this transformative space won’t just open its doors—it will thrive for generations to come. “People often focus on building something, but forget about maintaining it,” said Stan. “We don’t have children. For us, Grand Canyon is a legacy, and we want this venue to be a lasting part of that.”
Thanks to the Sutherlands and countless other advocates, Grand Canyon’s story will continue to be told—not just in the land and the river, but in color, canvas, and creativity.
Learn more about the art and exhibit venue.
KATHY DULEY
Framing the Canyon
From the moment the idea of an art event at Grand Canyon began to take shape , Kathy Duley was there—visionary, collaborator, and devoted steward of both art and place. A seasoned Scottsdale gallerist with a passion for the canyon’s wild beauty, Kathy joined the original task force assembled by then-CEO Susan Schroeder in 2008. Together, they imagined what would become Celebration of Art—a plein air event that debuted in 2009 and has since grown into a beloved tradition that brings the canyon to life through art each year.
When the program’s original coordinator, Helen Ranney, moved to a new role, Kathy was the natural choice to carry the vision forward. Recruited by Chief Philanthropy Officer Bonnie Baker, she stepped into the role in 2012 and guided the event with grace, creativity, and fierce dedication until her retirement this year.
Kathy brought with her not just a vast network in the art world, but also a deep love for Grand Canyon itself. An avid hiker since the 1980s, she’s ventured to the canyon’s depths over 35 times—an intimacy with the landscape that informed her understanding of both artists and their muse. Her eye for presentation and her rapport with painters made her a linchpin of the event, managing everything from artist selection and artwork check-in to curating the Kolb Studio exhibition and coordinating logistics with park staff and GCC’s events team.
“I really enjoyed hanging each year’s show and seeing people’s reactions to it,” Kathy reflects. “It’s a wonderful way to take part of the canyon home with you, and I loved finding out why people bought paintings that resonated with their own experience of the canyon. There were always stories. Coordinating the event was the best job I ever had!”
One of her greatest rewards? Watching the artists evolve. “I saw them learn to truly get the canyon—capturing the light, the river, the depth. You could see it click, year after year.”
Though retired from organizing, Kathy’s dedication endures. She’s a proud sponsor of this year’s Celebration of Art and an advocate for its future. “Grand Canyon Conservancy does incredible work to support and protect the park,” she says. “I believe deeply in this event and in the dream of a permanent venue to showcase the art inspired by this place.”
With heartfelt gratitude, Grand Canyon Conservancy honors Kathy Duley’s enduring legacy—her years of service, her eye for beauty, and her unwavering love for Grand Canyon.
“ From the beginning, Kathy brought unwavering enthusiasm and vision to Celebration of Art and its mission to establish a dedicated art venue on the South Rim. Her passion for the arts, along with her innovative ideas and influential connections, quickly made her a driving force behind the event. Kathy’s strategic insight and network within the arts community were instrumental in shaping the early success of Celebration of Art, and her contributions continue to be vital to its growth and to realizing the dream of a permanent home for art at Grand Canyon.”
The 17th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is hosted by Grand Canyon Conservancy on behalf of Grand Canyon National Park. Our sponsors provide significant support, and we thank them for their generous contributions.
PRESENTING SPONSORS
Lynn and Dave Rahn and the Beckman Foundation
KAIBAB SPONSORS
Jeanne and Nigel Finney
COCONINO SPONSORS
Terri Kline
The Picerne Family
Stephen and Elizabeth Watson
VISHNU SPONSORS
Kathy Duley and Carroll Huntress
Andrew and Pamela Kerr
Loven Contracting
Margaret T. Morris Foundation
Dan, Donna, and Tyson Winarski
Our media sponsors are Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air Magazine.
