26x20 inches. oils on stretched canvas. this is artist point in Yellowstone National Park painted from studies done on location.
In 1999 I was on a painting trip to Wyoming with some friends. We had been for a week in the Big Horn Mountains at a place called Ten Sleep. We got to Yellowstone and checked in at the cabin next to Old Faithful after dark and got up the next morning to paint. I had my pastels and oils. After a couple of days I had the routine down and had a few good studies. We finally made it to the famous Artist's Point, painted so many times by great artists that it was given this prestigious title. It was after ten and I felt it was too late to start a study but I could at least take photos. I was looking through the rangefinder on my Hasselblad and almost dropped the camera when I saw the boy of about nine doing a sketch in a sketchpad. He was unconcerned with the crowds and lost in his drawing. I thought to myself, 'Well, if he can do it so can I'. I went back to the car to get my pastels and a couple of pumice boards I made for the trip. 
There was another element to this story. When his parents saw me taking a photo they thought he was in my way and ordered him to stop. He left disappointed. I wanted to say something and turned to them. It was a family with five or six children all in clean clothes that were old.  They walked off. To be perfectly honest I am crying as I remember this from almost thirty years ago. I remembered my own young years in a small Texas town wanting to be an artist without any role models to guide me but a loving family that did support me.
I felt an obligation. I came back with my colors and stood behind the crowd until one by one they left and I was at the front with a clear view. I set up my easel and painted the scene for about forty five minutes in a bit of a fugue state. When I finished I turned to see a large respectful crowd behind me with my friends patiently watching and waiting on the rocks behind me. Everybody smiled and I waved to the crowd and started to pack up my colors and plein air easel. 
We walked toward the end of the trail and on the way the family of the young lad were coming at us. I felt a welling up of emotions because I had stolen his spirit and used it for my own art. As the family passed us I remarked softly to my friends so the lad could hear, "He's an artist!" I hope he heard me and I hope it gave back some of the spirit he gave me.
I rented an adobe cabin in Taos in 2000 and spent the winter and spring meditating and painting. I started "Spirit of Art" there and finished it from my photos and color study later in Texas. 
I would have to speak in person to anyone who wants to own this piece but it is time to let it go.