Alaskan painting residency welcomes applicants

Lisa Grossman, a painter from Kansas, traveled to the wilderness in Alaska for a six-day camping, kayaking, and painting excursion.

She says, "I was determined to use my favorite media, oils, though it presented challenges. I pared down my painting gear to fit into two dry bags stuffed into the kayak hatches, and created a dozen small sketches from about eight locations, plus a few watercolors." 

"The ice was absolutely enthralling and I could have painted 'bergs and glaciers endlessly. It was thrilling to witness glaciers calving in person, but also unsettling. The effects of a warming planet finally felt real to me in a visceral way. Never having experienced tides, any effects of sea levels rising also became easy to imagine. Seeing and hearing whales spouting, catching glimpses of harbor seals and porpoises while kayaking, and so many sea birds, was so moving.”

Lisa was part of the Voices in the Wilderness program, which selects painters, photographers, and other artists to participate in a unique artist residency. Applications are now being accepted for the 2018 season. Coordinator Barbara Lydon says that many of the successful applicants have come from GurneyJourney. 

You can find out the details at the website of Voices in the Wilderness, or email Barbara Lydon at [blydon [at] fs.fed.us]

Previous GJ posts about the program