White Rim No. 3 (I’m OK, You’re OK)
The source material (first pic, below) for this piece comes from a high water trip on the Green River with my son, Oscar (who was seven at the time). We had been hanging in a rarefied patch of noontime shade, taking photos, eating lunch, and laughing (second pic, below). We embarked in our inflatable kayak and I got back to taking photos on the fly, focusing entirely on the task at hand. Then, Oscar slipped out of the boat and started freaking out a little. I reminded him that the first step with all this outdoor adventure stuff was to NOT PANIC. He laughed and started patting his head in response to me patting my head, as he steadily drifted away from the kayak. I dragged his wet muskrat self back into the boat and laughed, laughed, laughed. As we were settling back into calm, the current took us near this wall, baking in the June sun.
Pastel and found campfire charcoal on watercolor paper
Artwork dimensions: 28" wide x 14" high
Source material for White Rim No. 3
Lunch break in the shade of the emerging White Rim, Canyonlands National Park — photo © Chad Niehaus