In the Footsteps of Thomas Moran-Recap of 2009 Event

One Artist's Thoughts on Painting in the Footsteps of Thomas Moran

By Roland Lee

The action of water, wind, and time has erased the actual footprints that Thomas Moran and John Wesley Powell left in Zion Canyon in 1873, but the mark they left for posterity is bigger than the Canyon itself.

As part of the 100th anniversary of Zion National Park, I was invited to join 20 other landscape artists and re-trace the steps Moran took in that first visit, recording our own images with paint and canvas. Using Moran's actual sketchbook as a reference, we spent one glorious week working deep in the shadows of Zion's sandstone towers. For me it was a culmination of my life's work. Having painted Zion for over 30 years, I am well acquainted with the grandeur and intimacy of the place. But this was a special time for me.

As each morning began, and the early rays of the sun crawled down the jagged peaks I tried to imagine how Moran must have felt, seeing it all for the first time. I've been there hundreds of times, and my heart still jumps when I see the yellow glow of sunlight warm the top of the Sentinel and Streaked Wall, breaking the ever-present chill of the morning canyon breeze.

Thomas Moran recorded his experiences in Zion Canyon with small pencil and watercolor studies which later developed into fabulous studio paintings, influencing generations to come. It was truly inspiring to follow in his footsteps, allowing my own emotions to take form with brush and paint as I tried to capture, using the same tools he used, the overwhelming grandeur of Zion’s peaks and pinnacles.

Moran sketched in relative solitude, but we had hundreds of onlookers during the week, stealing quick glances and exchanging nods of approval as the artists worked. Excitement and wonder was evident in their faces as they spoke cheerily, acknowledged our artistic efforts, then hurried off with water bottles, walking sticks, and childlike eagerness in their eyes to explore Zion's secrets. We were all there for the same purpose: To fill our souls with nature's beauty and majesty.

Early one morning as I set up my easel under The Sentinel with a brisk wind tugging at my sketchbook pages, I reflected on Moran’s first visit. Maybe the little watercolor painting I completed that morning didn't have the finished look of the big studio painting I would complete later, just as Moran's sketches were only notes for his grand finished landscape paintings. But I knew one thing for certain—he and I had both stood on the same ground, were overwhelmed by the same vistas, and recorded our feelings with brushes and paint. My own paintings will never match his in impact or scale, but that day I felt the warm companionship of a kindred spirit as I walked in his footsteps. Maybe it was even his words that somehow echoed from the past, or maybe it was the canyon itself speaking, but I know I heard these words:

"See with your eyes, feel with your heart, and paint with your soul." 

-- Roland Lee