Wasatch Homestead III: Statement
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I was just notified that my, watercolor painting “Wasatch Homestead III”, was awarded the National First Place award in the DAR American Heritage Committee Contest. I will be honored with a certificate and a ribbon during DAR Continental Congress in Washington D.C. The American Heritage Forum will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel from 5:00-6:30 pm.
My painting will be displayed during the DAR Continental Congress until June 30, 2018. The theme of this year’s American Heritage Contest is “Exploring America Through the Arts.” My watercolor painting of “Wasatch Homestead III”, supports this theme in several very personal ways. First, it honors my ancestors who travelled through Utah from Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia on their westward migration to Oregon and Washington. And second, it honors my daughter who later lived in this part of Utah for around 15 years. The scene is between Park City and Heber City, Utah, near where my daughter lived during her years as a competitive downhill mogul skier (she was sponsored by Deer Valley Ski Area in Park City) and later while she was on the Professional Ski Patrol at Snow Bird Ski Area. Whenever I visited her, I would pass this scene every day on my way to and from her home on the way to the ski areas. I was so taken by the beauty of the area that I took many photographs and made many sketches. As I, myself, was a professional ski instructor for 30 years, the snowy mountainous terrain holds a special place in my heart. I created this 22” X 30” watercolor painting to show the old homestead against the grand Wasatch Mountains. A scene much like it would have been when my ancestors passed through. I wanted to give it a rough snow-covered winter look, so I painted it on a 300 lb. Cold Press Arches paper. I first layered the paper, starting with lots of watercolor washes and then I worked forward producing the details of the mountains and homestead. 
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