Hiking the Grand Canyon was our family tradition.  Twice a year, spring and fall, without fail, we would hike either down and up in a day, or south to north in a day.   We planned it for years.     

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The day my life changed was when I saw a Plein Air oil painter painting the canyon.  That was when the seed was planted.

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Arguably the biggest most important oil painting festival in the world.  The Grand Canyon brings visitors in from all over the globe.  I want to be a part of this energy and enthusiasm as possible.  I want this journey to continue to inspire me and my art.

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I dream of being in the Grand Canyon Plein Air Festival.   The canyon has been mine and mine alone since I was four years old.  Family from the far corners of the US would come to visit us and we would go show them my canyon. I knew all the best spots to view it.  I knew the roads in the Grand Canyon Village, I knew the train and the tracks and the shops and the railings and the views.   This was where we took family to show them my canyon.   It is still my canyon.  I'm sure I feel more memories and see more colors and hear more echos than any other person alive.