Grand Canyon – Analog Artist Digital World

When the bus stopped rolling, it was a short walk from the parking lot to this overlook at the rim of the Grand Canyon. Rather than push forward to the staging area on the rock overlook I was more fascinated with sketching the crowd at the rim. Pam pushed ahead and took some amazing panorama photos. She asked another tourist to take a photo of her alone on a rock outcrop and the photo lakes in a stunning 180 degree vista. Clearly this would be an amazing place to return to to do a series of painting.

When this sketch was done, we took a hike along a trail and found an amazing photographers studio built into the side of the canyon. Built in 1906, it is known as the Kolb Studio. Brothers Elsworth and Emery Kolb got permission to build the studio from the owner of Bright Angel Trail. For the next 112 years the brothers explored the canyon from every conceivable angle with their cameras. They made a living selling their photos in small leather bound books for $3 each.

Besides taking still photos, the brothers decided to also explore the Colorado River filming the adventure using the new medium of motion pictures. The brothers toured the eastern United States presenting a successful
film lecture series. People packed the theaters to hear about their
great adventure. A 1913 lecture tour in Ohio proved unsuccessful and the brothers fought bitterly about the loss. Their already tense relationship grew even more heated, causing them to split
the business. A coin-toss granted Emery the studio and Ellsworth moved
to Los Angeles. Emery stayed in the canyon home with his wife Edith and daughter Edith.

Big business in the form of the Fred Harvey Company, which wanted a monopoly on tourist trade at the canyon, and the National Park Service conspired to close down the Kolb Studio over the years but the enterprising lovers of nature and adventuring spirit which built the studio persevered, overcoming every hardship. The Kolb family lived in the studio until 1976 when Emery died. After his death, the National Parks Service acquired the home. Today the building is used as an art gallery, bookstore and information center. Sales from the bookstore help renovate the structure.

I am certain that any artist who enters this studio instantly feels the amazement and wonder of what it would be like to create in such an inspiring studio setting. Besides the amazing collection of photos on display, there were also large scale paintings of the canyon. A boat, the brothers used to photograph the Colorado River, some of the original cameras, and other artifacts brought the history alive. The place inspires me to want to find or create my own grand adventure.

While in Las Vegas, Pam Schwartz and I decided to take a bus to the Grand Canyon. The drive was about four hours. The driver gave us an epic and comedic account of the history of sites along the way. 46 minutes into the trip we passed the Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam has been generating power for the past 80 years. The 5000 man workforce had to reside in the middle of the desert and Bolder City was constructed rather than rely on Sin City 46 minutes away. If all the concrete used to build the dam was instead used to build a full sized highway, that highway could stretch from coast to coast. Work on the dam began in 1931 which was a year of record breaking heat. Daily, the temperatures rose to up to 119 degrees Fahrenheit. For much of the rest of the trip a movie played on the bus’s overhead screens. We couldn’t see the screens from our front row seats, so I kept sketching.

About half way through the trip the entire bus poured out and ate at an all you can eat buffet. The food was not memorable and there was plenty of it. When we poured back into the bus, the restaurant grew dead silent. With a four hour ride I probably had time to do a second sketch, but instead I watched the scenery fly by as we approached the vast Grand Canyon.