Hiker

Hiker Artist Statement:

"The farther one gets into the wilderness,
the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom."
Theodore Roosevelt

"This curious world we inhabit...is more wonderful than convenient;
more beautiful than useful; it is more to be admired and enjoyed than use."
Henry David Thoreau

"God saw all that he had made,
and it was very good."
Genesis 1:31

These words capture something of the lonely mystery found on a naked mountaintop or deep in a secluded valley. It is this experience of something raw and beautiful, repeated, soaked up and integrated into oneself that I seek to represent in my drawing of the hiker. It is aspirational-- a portrait of the man I wish one day to be. And it is meditative. Similar to the experience on the peak of a mountain, the act of drawing transports the mind to a place of quiet reflection.