Majestic Land by Jose Luiz Nunez
24 x 36 in.
Oil

The 12th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art kicked off in early September with measures in place to ensure social distancing and the safety of both the artists and visitors. During Plein Air at Grand Canyon from September 12th through September 19th, visitors could watch the artists at work, painting along the South Rim of Grand Canyon. Now through January 18th, 2021, their work will be available for viewing and for sale at Grand Canyon Conservancy’s online gallery.

Each year 4 to 5 new artists are invited to participate in the event. One of this year’s new artists is Jose Luis Nunez. Nunez was born in Mexico City, and after studying painting and philosophy in Spain, Italy, and Mexico, he now lives in San Diego, California. Plein air painting is very important for him because it allows him to deeply get to know the spirit of the land he is painting: its colors, shapes and values. While this was his first time involved in Celebration of Art, he is no stranger to Grand Canyon, having faced the challenges of plein air painting there numerous times.

In addition to the plein air work the artists do during the event, they also submit a Grand Canyon related studio painting. Nunez’s studio painting Majestic Land beautifully captures the depth and vastness as well as the magical ever-changing light of the canyon. Of this painting Nunez says:

“I want to convey the awesome feeling that one feels when one is at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Two big rock cliffs escort the view and send our eyes flying, first to a red mesa in the middle and then far into the wide Canyon. Our eyes fly all around the beauty of the canyon, like the condor now also flies all over it.”

For more information visit grandcanyon.org/coa and shop.grandcanyon.org
or contact Kathy Duley at [email protected] or 480-277-0458.