The Grand Canyon is a natural cross section of geology that shows millions of years of history in it's rock faces. It covers almost 5000 square kilometres of land in the state of Arizona in the United States, and attracts millions of visitors every single year, and when you walk along the South Rim of the national park, it is very easy to understand what makes it so popular. Firstly, the size of it is just unfathomable. Photos will never do justice the emotion one feels when they first set their eyes upon it. After a few minutes you can begin to watch the colours change as the clouds cast shadows over the iridescent landscape of striking red rock against lush green valleys. If you stay for a few hours, as the day progresses, you will see it in an entirely new light and in a new mood. It is an ever changing canvas of natural beauty.
Every year, the Grand Canyon Association hosts an event called The Grand Canyon Celebration of Art which starts as six days of art related events followed by a three month exhibition in Kolb Studio, situation on the South Rim of the National Park. The initial six days occur every September with the exhibition stretching until January the following year.
The artists trying to capture this area of unimaginable beauty work in the medium of plein art. The term derives from the French term “En plein air” which simply means the act of painting outdoors, as opposed to studio painting. This allows artists to work with the real time natural light that they see around this, and became particularly popular in the 19th century with the impressionist movement. As paints became portable (as before being available in tubes artists would have to create their own), the medium became more common, and can be seen by artists such as Monet and Pissarro.
The artists compete in a plein air painting competition in view of the park visitors and residents as they try to represent the national park. Such a huge and striking landscape is very difficult to photograph, yet alone paint, and some of the results are just as dramatic as the canyon itself. Each artist brings a studio piece with them and then spends some time in various sections of the national park (South Rim, NorthRim, Phantom Ranch and at the Indian Garden) creating more work and experiencing the national park in different lighting and weather conditions.
At the end of the week of painting, the artists place their work in an auction which is sold off at a quick draw event in the Grand Canyon Village. An exhibition of the work is then displayed in the Kolb Studio for three months.
The national park itself is open all year to visitors, although some walking tracks can be closed in bad weather. There are plenty of camping spots and accomodation for visitors wishing to stay the night, and activities such as hiking, viewpoints, helicopter tours and information centres to accomodate for everybody's taste. Your first sighting of the Grand Canyon is something you will never forget.