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| Hayvez-Loseth Wedding, Lewiston Idaho, 2016. 24 x 36 inches. |
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| The Lewiston-Clarkston valley |
Usually
when I travel to paint live at a wedding, it’s someplace that fits the stereotype
of glamour— The Hamptons, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Cabo San Lucas, et cetera.
But this trip was to one of my favorite places in the American West: Lewiston,Idaho. When Lewis and Clark first came over the Continental Divide and down
Lolo Pass, they met the Snake River here at it’s confluence with the
Clearwater; they then traveled the Snake to the Columbia and the Pacific Ocean.
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| Detail: the Couple |
I grew up about 35 miles north by
northwest from here, so it was like going home. (In fact, I did go home, too). Every
summer of my childhood, every weekend, we drove down the old Lewiston Grade
(now called the Spiral Highway) to this beautiful valley, and then up the Snake
River to Buffalo Eddy, in Hell’s Canyon, to swim and canoe.
This
bride and groom were friends of friends from my home town, so I gave them my
hometown discount.
It was a
delight to talk, as I painted, to an eleven year old girl about her 4-H
project, raising a pig. It was amusing to be outbearded by several men in the
room. And the food was the best home style cooking you’ll never find in some
chef-catered ballroom on the coasts.
And
although it was the second of January, I even found time to swim in the river.
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| Detail: An essential component of every painting: Extended Family. |
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