Bruce Aiken's Grand Canyon

Book excerpt: As a child growing up in the concrete canyons of New York City, Bruce Aiken dreamed of someday living at the end of a long dirt road. Little did he know that this road would lead over five miles down a narrow, steep trail into the depths of another canyon--the Grand Canyon. Nor could he predict that he would live in this unlikely place for over thirty years. In a remote side canyon along a stream that ultimately flows into the Colorado River, Bruce and his wife Mary raised three children while he tended Grand Canyon National Park's precious water supply at Roaring Springs . . . and painted. Out of this intimate relationship between the artist and his muse came a body of work unparalleled in the annals of Grand Canyon landscape painters. With a style labeled by some art critics as "authoritative realism," these paintings reveal the multifaceted beauty of one of the world's most alluring wonders through the eyes of someone who can truly call it home. As Bruce says, "My main idea is to paint scenes that say, 'I was here. I saw this. This is a first-hand experience.' Grand Canyon is not only big and beautiful, it's pristine living . . . it's still wild to me." With an introduction by James Ballinger, Director of the Phoenix Art Museum, this volume showcases some of Aiken's most stunningly beautiful pieces. A must-have for anyone interested in the Grand Canyon, intrigued by the unique life of the artist, or captivated by gorgeous art.