Back to the Winds
Up to 24 works
Trailside Galleries
130 E. Broadway Avenue Jackson Hole, WY 83001 (307) 733-3186 www.trailsidegalleries.com
In 2012, Lanny Grant was invited by wildlife artist Tucker Smith on a painting trip to the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. The weeklong adventure to the 2,800-square-mile area left a lasting impression on Grant, who has gone a pack trip to the mountains every year since. Largely untouched, the terrain is mostly accessible by horse or foot with its trails leading to lakes and small inlets that often provide inspiration to the artist. “You could spend several lifetimes there and never see it all,” says Grant.
This summer, Trailside Galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will host Back to the Winds featuring Grant’s latest works from the mountain range. “Four years ago [was my Trailside exhibition] Into the Winds. That was the first one based on these trips,” says Grant, “so this is sort of the sequel.”
Along with the artists who head to Wind River Range today, the region has seen past Western artists travel to the area including wildlife master Carl Rungius. “Out of interest
Nature is the main sources of inspiration for Grant’s artwork, and because of that not only will there be full-size works in the exhibition at Trailside, but several field studies are included as well. Some of them even match the larger pieces to show the process of his work. “[My studies] are really the research and the color reference that I need for painting firsthand and matching color to color what your eye sees,” says Grant.
He adds that when he was viewing an exhibition of Bob Kuhn’s work, he saw a drawing that the artist had done and in the corner of it was a note Kuhn wrote that said, “Never alter a field study.” This was a sentiment Grant took to heart. “When I come home from these pack trips, I don’t work on the field study…mostly it’s because of what Bob was referencing,” Grant explains. “You can’t duplicate what you create out in the field back in the studio.”