CONDOR OVER ZION

 
Sally asked me, Chuck, to write this blog.

The inspiration for this painting was the result of taking a hike last fall up to Angels Landing in Zion National Park. The summit is 800 feet above the valley floor, and the views are breathtaking. At about the 600 foot elevation, I took some pics of the Pipe Organ formation, which is named because of the vertical columns of stone at the end. At this time, we also saw California condors soaring along the vertical cliff walls below us. It was magnificant. Looking at the pics upon our return, I realized that I had the makings of a decent painting. Condor Over Zion is the result, which is 24x30 inches and painted in oil. I finished it just after Christmas 2008, but noodled with it and made a few modification for a couple of months thereafter. Finally, I showed the painting to a professional artist friend of mine who was impressed enough to suggest that I enter the painting in the national Art for the Parks competition. I entered in April and at the end of June got a phone call that I had placed in the Top 100 nationally and had received very high scores in that group. Several thousand paintings had been entered from around the country. What a surprise and honor.

I have to take the painting to Topeka, Kansas next week, where it will be shipped out to the Kolb Studio, South Rim Village, Grand Canyon National Park, along with the other 99 paintings from around the U.S. From there, it will go to St. Louis, and West Palm Beach, FL, and a few other cities over the next 14 months. Pretty neat! All of the Top 100 paintings will be published in a book titled Paint the Parks 2009.

I had to place a price on the painting that reflected the market value of my paintings. Since I have not sold a painting in over 35 years, my paintings are theoritically worth zero. Needless to say, I placed a goodly sum upon the painting. The First Place award is a $10,000.00 purchase. The Art for the Parks official who called me stated that Condor Over Zion would likely sell at the Grand Canyon, but would continue on with the show to the other cities.

Life is so full of surprises. Who would have guessed. Now, what did I do to create such a nice painting and can I do it again?