Inspiration—From Long Ago

My introduction to Lewis & Clark was likely the same as millions of Americans: 4th grade history class. Decades later, after spending time in Montana within miles of the historic route, the explorers’ adventure through the West unfolded for me all over again. I wanted to honor the importance of their trek and their journals as some of the first chroniclers of the unexplored West (Native Americans, of course, preceded them). Reimagining what Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery saw and experienced in the early 1800s has become an endless source of inspiration for me. It’s a window into the relationship between land, animals, and people. When I paint for this collection, I follow the explorers, listening to their journals as I imagine what they saw, but in my own, signature style. 

When part of my “Corps of Discovery” collection was exhibited at the Pearce Museum in Corsicana, Texas with the paintings and explorer’s journal notes side by side, I saw how the past can be present.

What stories of the West capture your imagination?