Zion National Park Painting Trip
by
Armand Cabrera
I had a great time painting in Zion National park during the week of April 18th to 25th. One of the crown jewels of the National Park System, Zion is in southern Utah. The spring weather was beautiful with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s for the week.
The occasion for my visit was an invitational paint out that was part of the 100th anniversary of the park. 22 artists from around the country were invited. I enjoyed spending time with my artist friends and meeting new artists.
The show was called ‘In the Footsteps of Thomas Moran’. All the artists were allowed to paint in the same areas that Moran had painted in in 1873. The views were chosen from his sketchbook and it was interesting to see how much the Virgin River and time had changed the topography of the sites.
There was a wet painting sale on Friday at the Bingham Gallery in Mt Carmel and an auction Saturday at the Zion lodge.
For a trip like this I had to send all my equipment and frames ahead of time. I decided to paint everything 11×14 for the show, making my packing easier.
I boxed up the frames with the blank canvas boards attached in them with offset clips and screws. All the hardware and hanging wires were setup as horizontal paintings. This allowed me to change my mind and make a verticle if I needed to and still have enough wire to hang it.
My paints and gear were also boxed and shipped ahead of my arrival.
By doing this I was able to only have a carry on bag and camera on the flight, saving me time in the airport.
