“I set up my easel at the edge of the trail in the chill of morning as dawn brushed the peaks in a salmon glow,” says artist Aaron Schuerr about one of his wilderness painting adventures. “As I massed in color, a trail runner came around the bend and stopped dead in his tracks and said, ‘You’re painting? But where did you come in from?”
Coastal Abundance, oil, 20 x 26". Courtesy the artist.
Schuerr explained that he hiked in the night before from the west. “I was about five miles in on a 26-mile solo painting traverse of the Beartooth Mountains of Montana,” he says. “What would take me six days he would run in a day, and at a record-breaking pace. I traveled at the whim of the muse, which is to say, at the pace of two or three paintings per day. It’s a simple formula—paint where inspiration strikes, and sleep on the ground wherever I end up. I jokingly call it the slow-food movement of the wilderness experience.”
Lost Lake, oil, 33 x 46". Courtesy Illume Gallery West, Philipsburg, MT.
Schuerr has painted his way across the Grand Canyon and over the mountain ranges of Montana, carrying all he needs on his back—a tent, food, water, stove, sleeping bag, extra socks and painting gear.
“Every step into the wilderness brings me closer to myself, which is to say, closer to a true expression,” Scheurr says. “To paint at timberline is, to borrow a theatre adage, to ‘live truthfully in the moment.’ My goal is not to describe a place; it’s to share the experience of joy and wonder.”
The Spanish Peaks, oil, 30 x 40". Courtesy Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman, MT.
Want to See More?
(406) 539-8393 | aaronschuerr@gmail.com
Represented by:
Montana Trails Gallery 7 W. Main Street, Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 586-2166 | www.montanatrails.com
Illume Gallery West 130 E. Broadway Street, Philipsburg, MT 59858 (435) 313-5008 | www.illumegallerywest.com
Facebook: /AaronSchuerr
Instagram: @aaronschuerr
Powered by Froala Editor
