Heading To the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art Plein Air on the Rim Event

Me at the 2011 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art
(from National Parks Traveler)

I've spent the last few days organizing odds and ends for the Grand Canyon Plein Air on the Rim event next week. Tomorrow, I'll drive down from Campobello Island to Manchester NH and then fly from there to Denver and then Phoenix.  In Phoenix, I'll pick up the rental car and stop at my winter studio in Sedona for a couple of days.  Although my winter studio has most of the gear and materials I'll need, there are two precious items that travel with me across the country - brushes and my favorite turps container (empty.)  I really don't want to forget those.

However, once I'm in Sedona, I will have the real packing to do!  I have a checklist for plein air events, and although I've been packing for these events for several years now, I still rely on the list.  If I forget sunblock or paper towels, I know I can buy those in Grand Canyon Village, but I doubt I'll be able to buy a tube of titanium white.  (The Village store, though, does have a surprising array of necessities; last year, I misplaced the data cable for my camera, and I was actually able to purchase a card reader there!  No, I wasn't painting from photos, but I was depending on my camera for blogging.)

Since it's always a guess how many paintings I'll turn out, I usually throw in a few extra frames.  For every painting that goes up on the wall, I usually do two or three more.  I'd like to have frames for them all, just in case I need to put up replacements during the sale.  Sometimes you can buy frames at these events.  Last year, Randy Higbee from King of Frames was there, and I bought some nice ones from him.

That's it for now.  I'll write more once I'm in Arizona.