Art Notes

Few places in this world can match the splendor so evident in any vista drawn from the Grand Canyon. The range of hue in the rock, the play of shadow and light in each crevasse discovered, and the sheer depth of the field experienced can overwhelm the eye of their beholder. The Canyon truly is a visual spectacular. But the real grandeur of this gorge does not simply lie in its view. Rather, it is captured by how that panorama fills the mind’s eye and affects the human spirit. It is how it makes you feel that makes its sight so special.

Join me as I paint this natural wonder and pay a visit to some of its most famous inhabitants. A family of bighorn sheep gazes out into the summer sun as a team of mules takes a group of tourists down the steep trails that lead to the mighty Colorado River, the source of this ever-changing geologic gash in the earth. A ringtail cat looks on with interest as a Gila Monster slowly crawls the sun-warmed red rock.

Spirit of the Grand Canyon is my latest attempt to pay homage to our country’s great national parks and wildlands. I hope this painting entices you all to visit this wondrous place, and in seeing it, you can feel the canyon’s touch on your heart, mind, and soul. And thank you all for sharing my adventure in art.

Key Points

• Spirit of the Grand Canyon is the first painting in Zac Kinkade’s America’s Wildlands Series II, which captures the beauty and wildlife of some of the United States’ stunning National Parks. In the first American Wildlands Series, Zac painted the stunning vistas of Texas’ Guadalupe Mountains, the Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, and the Yosemite Valley.
• Grand Canyon National Park is located in Arizona and includes 277 miles of the Colorado River. This incredible wonder of nature is one mile deep and up to 18 miles wide in places, with iconic colorful bands that reflect millions of years of geologic development.
• From mid-July through the end of September, the Grand Canyon experiences extraordinary thunder and lightening storms, which are enhanced by the region’s unique topography.
• The Grand Canyon is home to an estimated 447 species of birds. Can you guess which bird Zac included in Spirit of the Grand Canyon?
• Including the Gila Monster, there are 41 reptile species that live in the various ecosystems of the Grand Canyon. Did you know the Gila Monster is the only venomous lizard in the United States?
• The ringtail cat is Arizona’s state mammal, and although there are many of them in the Grand Canyon, they are notoriously elusive and rarely seen.