"Welcome to a collection where the rugged Colorado backcountry is transformed into a sanctuary of light. Having never seen an Aspen tree until arriving in town at age 22, my life was forever altered when I felt called from God to grab a paintbrush and start a self taught journey into the light. Today, as an elite mountain athlete, I run, bike, ski and winter boot-pack Aspen’s legendary trails to capture raw, firsthand memories on canvas. My work commands the room through a powerful visual duality: from afar, it presents a breathtaking, flawless photorealism that makes you feel as though you are standing directly on the trail. Yet, as you step closer, the image beautifully deconstructs into pure abstract forms, geometric blocks of shadow, and the light tactile brushstrokes of my healing journey. These are strict, museum-quality 1-of-1 original acrylics—one moment, one canvas, never to be painted again."
"I am not into painting just another pretty picture of Aspen trees. Rather, I am into painting the story of the wilderness in the mountains, where the most elegant protagonist is the Aspen. My vision is to capture their splendor in the totality of my work, as a journal of the forest. I want to paint the silent voice of the backwoods that screams out loud the beauty of His creator, with all of it’s strength and passion! I want my artwork to be an archive for the future, just in case Aspen trees are not as many as they are today".
"...A beauty that is beyond the need of being praised, but on the contrary, it gives without asking. That is the wilderness. Untouched it came, and untouched it should be left."
Isabella Garaffa