I recently had the honor of assisting in selecting the 2013 resident artist for Gates of the Arctic National Park. Almost 50 artists applied this year. Offering art and soul for the opportunity to spend time in one of America's last true wilderness landscapes. With skills and proposals including; stunning photography, insightful painting, powerful prose, interactive sculpture, dance choreography, environmental music composition and a melange of mixed mediums…. no easy task to whittle down this field!
Congratulations David Shaw! , you're lucky (it is partly that) …. and skilled, and creative, your personal scenario fits the circumstances and you have something outstanding to offer. For the artists who were rejected this time around, just know that it wasn't your turn. If you want it, come back again, and again as need be. It's so very worth the effort!
The painting above was inspired by my own trip down the Noatak River as AIR, Gates of the Arctic in 2009. There's no doubt about the impact this opportunity had on me (Thank you GAAR!) Besides a solo show of paintings, a book and poster, I created sketchbook style documentation of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, see it on the GAAR website. My cohorts on the trip were Jing Zhou and Tracie & Don Pendergrast. Click here to preview the book about our trip. Have a like for the GAAR facebook page for more information and some stunning imagery!
