Aaron Schuerr takes plein air painting deep into the wilderness. He has embarked on solo backpacking painting treks across the Grand Canyon and over mountain ranges of Montana and Colorado. He gets confused when people talk about a “plein air season.” In his experience there are four, winter being his favorite- despite deep snow, cold fingers, and blinding light. His other love is painting barefoot on the beach, which also involves blinding light but doesn’t involve grizzly bears.

Schuerr was a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show- possibly the only time plein air painting was ever discussed on a daytime talk show. Clarkson introduced him as Bob Ross 2.0. Schuerr is not sure how he feels about this.

His work has been featured in numerous publications, some expected, like Plein Air Magazine and Southwest Art. Some unexpected, like The Daily Telegraph and The Times of London. He is a frequent contributing writer to The Pastel
Journal and The Artist Magazine.

Aaron is founding member of Arteva, an international artist
collective. In March Schuerr joined with a dozen world-class artists on a
three-week plein air painting trip through Rajasthan, India. In the past year
he has also painted and taught in Western Australia.

A stage actor and playwright, Aaron is a member of Montana
In-Site Theatre. Most recently, he wrote a play about playwright Anton Chekhov and Artist Isaak Levitan, performing it on the grounds of Tippet Rise Art Center. Acting
and plein air painting as a 19th century manic-depressive artist was
one of the happiest, most meaningful projects of his career.  

Schuerr lives in Livingston, Montana, with his wife and many cats. His three grown children live nearby.
Cooking is his love language. His life philosophy is simple: Be good to your cats. Everything else is
negotiable.

Local pastel painter Arlene Braithwaite earned her Master’s degree from the University of Utah. Upon graduating, she
enjoyed a career teaching art at Southern Utah State University. Since retirement, Braithwaite has been painting in her studio and on location. She has been in numerous solo shows, including at the Utah Museum of Natural History, the Springville Museum, and the Sears Museum.

Braithwaite has completed commissions for Cedar Breaks National Monument and the Dixie National Forest. She was named Celebrated Artist for the Zion Park Centennial

“In my plein-aire work, I attempt to evoke the sense of time and place that makes each sceneunique. I am never hesitant to manipulate reality to increase impact.”

Southern Utah, and particularly Zion National Park, has played a pivotal role in my development as an artist. This remarkable region consistently provides inspiration, even after decades of painting here. I’m honored and happy to be returning for this year’s Invitational!

The Sentinel has always been a favorite subject, especially when viewed from near Canyon Junction Bridge. However, when seen from up canyon near The Court of the Patriarchs, the formation becomes a much more formidable subject to paint. I’ve painted it there many times
on-site, and while those efforts didn’t always result in successful paintings, each one deepened
my understanding of the formation’s true structure.

Watching the shifting light and shadows play across the cliffs reveals subtleties that are impossible to fully grasp from a single photograph. This is my first attempt at a studio painting of the scene,
and whatever success it achieves is rooted in those foundational on-site experiences. They gave me knowledge that no reference photo alone could provide.

I believe every landscape painter who creates studio work should paint on location as often as possible. There’s simply no substitute for firsthand observation. As the saying goes, “You don’t
know what you don’t know!”

Chris Kolupski is a Rochester, New York-based landscape painter whose work focuses on the light, color, and geology of the American West. He paints both on location and in the studio, in oils, and his style sits somewhere between realism and impressionism, building paintings through value organization, direct brushwork, and palette knife technique. His paintings aim for strong, simplified shapes rather than surface detail, letting the mark itself carry meaning.

Chris began painting outdoors as a teenager in the forests of Upstate New York and Canada. He later studied portraiture and figure painting with Nelson Shanks, Everett Raymond Kinstler, and Deane Keller at the Art Students League of New York. That training, particularly Shanks’ emphasis on value structure through Notan sketching, became the foundation of his approach to landscape. In 2004, he founded Boxart Street Atelier in Rochester, where he taught figurative and landscape painting for ten years. A 2017 painting trip through Utah and Colorado refocused his practice entirely on outdoor landscape work.

He is the founder of Paint Out West, now in its sixth year, a workshop series that takes two forms. The virtual workshop follows Chris into the field across a wide range of western locations, including Zion, Canyon de Chelly, the Grand Tetons, and the Grand Canyon, with students painting along from wherever they are. Live workshops are currently held in and around Moab, Utah, with painting sessions on location at Arches National Park, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point.

His work is represented at Thunderbird Foundation Gallery in Mt. Carmel, Utah.

Statement for Piece:

I go west to feel small. Not the bad kind. The kind you go looking for Zion still does it, even with the crowds. Off the main trail, along the river, the noise drops out andit’sjust me and the water working through the canyon. I’m chasing light more than subject. Sunrise, sunset, rim light, backlight often stop me in my tracks, and I find myself automatically unpacking my equipment. At daybreak I’m usually zigzagging the river’s edge, scoping out compositions of reflected red rock coursing through long morning shadow. On location I sketch fast, recording as many color notes as possible before the light changes. Back in the studio, my sketches become the seeds of larger paintings. I need a real dose of this every year. Out there, whatever’s been running at full speed all year finally slows down. And in that quiet, with just the sound of the river, I can hear myself think. These paintings are what that quiet looksl ike to me.

Debbie Robb was born in Cedar City, Utah. In 1991, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Southern Utah University. Throughout her academic career, Debbie participated in several of the art courses offered by Cedar High School and Southern Utah University. She has always held a great interest in the field of fine arts. Debbie is a founding member of Cedar Plein Air (formerly The Kolob Society)
, which is a local group of plein air painters. She is also a Signature Member of the Southern Utah Watercolor Society, and served as President from 2002 to 2004, and Treasurer from 2002 to present. Her work has been exhibited at Artisans Art Gallery, Blue Sage Frame Shop and Gallery, Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, The Heritage Center, Library in the Park, Frontier Homestead State Park, Red Canyon Visitors Center, Cedar City Offices/Mayor’s Gallery, Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA), Worthington Art Gallery, The Kolob Gallery, and Datura Gallery. Debbie is actively developing her skills as an artist.

Statement of Piece:

In my paintings, I try to capture the pure majesty of Zion National Park, a place where strength and serenity exist together in the timeless beauty of nature.  I find inspiration in the towering sandstone cliffs that rise like ancient guardians and tell many stories carved by time.  While below them, the river reflects the vibrant golden glow of cottonwood trees in peak autumn colors, creating a peaceful contrast to the rugged canyon walls.  Sunlight dances through the canyon, sculpting and transforming the landscape into a celebration of warmth and light.  In Zion, even the grandest cliffs are softened by the golden embrace of autumn, reminding me that beauty is found in both strength and tranquility.  During the Zion National Park Art Invitational, I hope to increase my knowledge and skill in painting such an inspiring, unique, and special place.  Growing up in Southern Utah, I have many treasured memories of Zion National Park and hope to create more. 

My painting is titled “Autumn Light in Zion”  and it will be 22” X 28” including the mat and frame. The price is $1200 and the medium is watercolor.  I painted it this year. 

Gregory Stocks has been a professional exhibiting artist since 1993 and is
recognized for his combination of classical representation and contemporary
execution. His sensibility is stark, with a clean, contemporary feel. His scenes are
a combination of memories and imagination… intended to relate not so much a place as an “emotional space”.

Arriving in Utah in 1981, the artist attended Utah State University where he
earned a Bachelors Degree in illustration.  Stocks has been featured in the
publications Southwest Art Magazine and American Art Collector.  In addition
to exhibiting at the US Embassy in Brussels in 2005, he has exhibited throughout
the US and is included in many public and private collections. He now calls Tucson, Arizona home.

Artist’s Statement

My work is an effort to create images that serve as emotional detours from the
noise and confusion of the surrounding world. I find the process of painting to be
similar to that of writing a song. There is a basic structure or rhythm to the work.
The melody comes into play in the form of color, brushwork and the expressive
possibilities of process. ~Gregory Stocks

James McGrew’s childhood backpacking and camping trips sparked his interwoven loves for nature and art. Constantly compelled to draw and paint, he began working with soft pastels at age 8 and oils at age 10. Although he took art courses wherever possible, he continues to learn the most from studying both nature and historic masterworks of museums. He earned undergraduate degrees in natural sciences followed by his graduate work in environmental education. His art began as a way to express his love of nature but as he raised his daughters and considered the world they would inhabit, he felt another purpose for his work as a means to inspire environmental awareness. Influenced primarily by the 19th-century Romantic masters whose paintings helped establish our early national parks, McGrew works to continue their legacy of preservation for future generations. He frequently hikes and backpacks in search of unique perspectives, wilderness solitude and mindfulness while plein air painting. Such experiences offer frequent observations of endangered species which he incorporates into his landscapes. James’ paintings hang in collections worldwide including the permanent collection of the Art Renewal Center. Some awards include Best of Show in the Grand Canyon and Maui Invitationals, The Zion Foundation Award, and more than a dozen collector’s choice awards in Zion, Grand Canyon, Carmel, Maui, and the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Exhibit. His work has been featured in many magazine articles, books and films including Zion’s We the Keepers. James holds signature memberships in the American Impressionist Society and LPAPA. He also worked as a seasonal interpretive park ranger/naturalist for 25 summers in Yosemite. 

Light in Zion Canyon is always moving, changing, unfolding — slipping across stone and river with a kind of quiet urgency. In the weeks of late autumn, that window of sunlight narrows even more. By November, the sun dips low, and the canyon walls steal the daylight long before evening arrives. Painting outdoors becomes a race against the inevitable descent of shadow. The
artist watches the cliff-face silhouette inch closer while working to capture as much as possible before it is gone.

Yet this fleeting light carries its own kind of grace. Just before the sun drops behind the western rim, it ignites the reds and yellows of the cottonwoods from behind, turning ordinary leaves into translucent gold against the deep purples of the canyon walls. These moments feel quietly reverent — luminous offerings that reveal themselves only to those who linger long enough to
witness them.

Stone and Sunlight is my attempt to honor that brief glimpse of radiance held just before the day folds into shadow.

John Lintott lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, with his wife Emily and their three daughters. He worked at Colorado National Monument Association for 8 years, organizing the park's Monuments and Canyons Plein Air Event, but now paints full-time from his studio at home. An award-winning artist, he began painting in numerous plein air events, including four years in the Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational, two in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, Jackson Hole, Snowmass, Moab, and many more. John's work has also been selected for the 2020 and 2021 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, the 2021 and 2022 Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, and has exhibited in the Colorado Governor's Art Show in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. In early 2022, John was invited to become a signature member of the Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA)- where he currently serves as president of the board. In 2024, John was accepted as an Out-of-State Artist Member of the California Art Club.

John’s work is represented at Parsons of the West in Taos, NM, Maynard Dixon Museum and Art Gallery in Mt. Carmel, UT, and Shaun Horne Gallery in Crested Butte, CO.

Statement: 

My love for the outdoors has brought me to a lifelong obsession with seeking out new places to paint. I have become inspired more and more by how light hits different environments. The effect that light has on an area is fascinating to me. Depending on time of day or time of year, it is amazing that the same place can look so different.   

The more I focus on light in my work, the more my ability to describe different scenes becomes a pure lesson in color and value. This is a lesson that I will continue to explore in order to further my understanding of the natural world around me. Being able to paint in and around Zion National Park is an opportunity I hold dear. Some of what I consider my favorite works have resulted from these trips over the years. 

Drawn especially to the landscapes of the American Southwest, Margaret Larlham paints regularly in the chaparral and deserts near her home in San Diego or on her travels through USA, England, Tanzania and her homeland, South Africa.
She is a multi-disciplinary artist and has enjoyed a productive career as a Professor of Theatre and Dance, firstly at the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, and later at San Diego State University, whilst constantly practicing as an outdoor painter.

She has achieved Eminent Pastel Artist status in the International Association of Pastel Societies. Recent awards include Enduring Brilliance 2025, Pastel Society of America, Gold Award at the IAPS Master Circle Exhibition 2022, Best of Show in Grand Canyon Celebration of Art 2022, and both First Place and Artists Choice Awards in Borrego Springs Invitational Plein Air 2023 Festival. She has been recently featured in Artists & Illustrators, Plein Air Magazine, Artists Magazine and the Pastel Journal.

“I began my career as a dancer so it is not a surprise that my focus has grown out of noting the special energy-of-things. My work, whether landscape or portrait, reflects the change “out there” as well as my own inner energy and mark as a painter.

I am interested in investigating more deeply, wild places and also the places familiar to me, and sharpening my responsiveness to the special character of new places I encounter along the way.

I explore all media but find the pastel medium to be most effective at capturing the vitality of tangible and intangible aspects of outdoor painting.”

Statement:

It is an incredible environment of extremes; high and low, dark and light, rock, water, sun plant and sky intersecting in unusual, surprising and unique ways. It connects me deeply to the ephemeral and enduring elements of nature.

I like to be part of an artistic endeavor that celebrates wilderness, and reinforces our need to conserve and be part of honoring the natural world.

As artists we materialize that which our senses activate. Like all humans we are products and producers of nature. We have a practical base of making things. We might employ pigments, ground from rock, ore, plants, brushed or poured onto a surface. As creators we strategically build layers and skins of darkness, light and color to evoke a semblance of what we have seen, felt, heard and sensed.

My goal is to convey both the tangible and intangible aspects of the experience of being in this corner of the world.

Thank you to the supporters of the Zion Forever Project, to Kathy Lafave of Worthington Gallery, and to the inspiration and camaraderie of fellow artists present here.

Mary Jabens was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Darby, Montana. She showed artistic ability early in childhood, and during a period of illness, her mother encouraged her creativity by providing art lessons and supplies—an experience that sparked a lifelong connection to painting.

Primarily self-taught, Mary continues to develop her skills through workshops and meaningful connections with fellow artists. The environments around her have always played a powerful role in shaping her work. She began painting outdoors in Glacier National Park, an experience that ignited her passion for plein air painting and continues to influence her as both an outdoor and studio artist.
Art has been a source of healing and renewal in Mary’s life. A later health challenge prompted her to reassess her priorities, leading her to place art at the center of her life and creative expression. Since then, she has focused on allowing her voice to emerge more freely through her work.

Mary is an award-winning artist whose paintings are held in private collections as well as the National Park Collection. She is an Associate with Distinction in American Women Artists and an award-winning member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society. She is also a member of Women Artists of the West, the American Impressionist Society, American Women Artists, and Oil Painters of America.

Statement:

Standing on the banks of the Virgin River taking in this view, it humbles me to even think I could paint something so magnificent. I don’t have the words to describe the feeling of being in this place, seeing the cliffs of Angels Landing towing over the beauty of the valley, listening to the river and knowing I am not really a part of this in the larger view.

With this painting, my goal was to capture the warm light on cliffs, the cool reflections of the Virgin River, and the sense of peace and wonder that envelopes me every single time I am in this magical place.

Michelle Condrat was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where she resided to this day. After earning her Art and Art History degrees from the University of Utah, she became a full time artist focusing most of her attention on the unique landscape of Utah and the Southwest. Her paintings are expressions of places ranging from the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah, to Zion National Park, as well as the magnificent Grand Canyon and parts of Arizona. When she is not working in the studio, she is gathering subject matter for future paintings by photographing her surrounding, whether it's from her own backyard, to the mountains outside her studio or from national parks throughout the country.

Many people have described her style as "digital" or "architectural" due to the layering of her linear and blended paint strokes. She is known for this unique painting style as well as her bright and intense color choices that are made from her unconventional paint pallet. Michelle's style also helps to give motion and depth to her paintings, while capturing the feel of the western landscape with a Modern Impressionist flare.

Statement:

Beauty is all around us, whether it's from the extraordinary to the plain, the colorful or the dreary, or from the exciting to the mundane. As an artist, I try to open my eyes and see things in a different way and to express it with my brushstrokes and color choices. Through my art, I hope to bring out all parts of our world whether they are iconic or overlooked, and remind people that in all things there is beauty, all you have to do is open your eyes and see it.



I fall in love with Zion National Park over and over again every time I see its inspiring and unique landscape.  I love the way the rock walls surround me from every direction and how I can hear the sound of the Virgin River flowing through the canyon as it creates golden reflections that dance across the water.  There's something special about the way you get drawn into this place and how you never forget that feeling of witnessing its beauty before your eyes. To be able to paint just a glimpse of this sacred land is an honor in itself, and it's a blessing to be able to share that with the world! 

One of my favorite places to paint in Zion is by the bridge crossing the Virgin River, looking south towards the Watchman. It's a popular place for photographers to capture the the light as the setting Sun lights up the west cliffs. It's fun to push the colors that each day brings, to share the joy of this amazing landscape.

During the 2026 Zion Forever event, my goals are to explore new perspectives of painting Zion's vast magnificence.

From his cabin/studio on the east border of Zion National Park, Roland Lee has explored the peaks and canyons of Zion National Park for over 50 years. His original watercolor and oil paintings can be found in over 2200 art collections. Roland was recently featured in the movie “Call of the Canyon,” a PBS documentary about Zion National Park.

Roland’s hardcover art book Roland Lee - A Legacy in Landscapes, along with his sold-out book, Discovering Zion contain many of his national park paintings. His Zion landscape paintings are also included in the book, Mukuntuweap, Landscape and Story of Zion Canyon, sold in the Zion National Park bookstore.

Paintings by Roland Lee have been selected for exhibit by Oil Painters of America, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Arts for the Parks Top 100, and Paint the Parks Top 100 shows. He is one of only a handful of living artists to be included in the historic component of the National Park Service centennial exhibit “A Century of Sanctuary, The Art of Zion National Park,” which included such noted deceased artists as Thomas Moran, Maynard Dixon, Ansel Adams, and Gunnar Widforss.

A popular painting instructor, Roland has produced over 20 instructional videos on YouTube and has taught workshops across America. His paintings have appeared in many art magazines including The Artist magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, Western Art and Architecture magazine and many others.

Roland’s interest in land preservation led to his serving on the board of directors of Zion Natural History Association (now the Zion Forever Project) for 12 years. He continues to contribute regularly to support the National Parks.

"As the son of a well-known outdoor writer, Wade has spent much of his life
immersed in nature. He began guiding Colorado River trips in the Grand Canyon
at the age of 17, eventually working 23 summers on the river. After earning
degrees in Illustration and Art Education from Brigham Young University, he
spent a decade teaching art in Southern Utah before launching a career as a
graphic designer, also teaching computer graphics at Dixie State College (now
Utah Tech). Since 2016, Wade has served as lead designer for the Zion Forever
Project—the official nonprofit partner of Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks and
Pipe Spring National Monuments, and Dixie National Forest. His work and life
experiences have given him an intimate connection with the mountains and
canyonlands of the American West. He has been painting and photographing
these landscapes for nearly 50 years and looks forward to painting full-time in the
years ahead. Wade is passionate about his faith, his family, and the wild places
that continue to inspire him."

Artist Statement

The red-rock deserts, mountains, and forested plateaus of the American West
have shaped every part of who I am. My connection to nature fuels a deep need
for creative expression. Whether I’m painting, photographing, or designing for
publication, my passion for these places is the driving force behind everything I
create. The wide-open spaces of this region are often seen as an outdoor
playground; a place to build friendships and family memories. While those
moments matter, this land plays a far more vital role for the plants, animals, and
people who have called it home for generations. For me, it’s a sacred space
where I feel closest to our Creator. Painting helps me slow down, observe more
deeply, and appreciate the beauty around me. It also gives me a voice: a way to
share not only what I see, but what I feel. My goal is to be as honest and
authentic as possible — to stay true to nature while expressing my own unique
vision. I hope those who engage with my work will come away with a deeper
reverence for what we have and a shared sense of responsibility to protect this
sacred inheritance.