A couple of years ago I visited a family members home in another western state and hanging in their hallway was this large oil painting of Broken Bow Arch painted by my father, Byrd Bartholomew. Byrd really connected with that arch. He painted dozens of different versions. Along with twisted juniper trees, Broken Bow arch was his favorite oil painting subject. My mother and he hiked in there to photograph the arch regularly. When I saw the painting I barely remembered it. He painted it during the early 1970′s I know this because there is a similar composition hanging in a home in northern Utah. I really enjoy this Broken Bow arch painting because of the tree Byrd placed in the foreground. He really had a passion for the twisted junipers of Utah. The particular tree represented in this painting (and in others), he found growing along the side of the road between Calf Creek and Boulder. Utah in what is now The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Sadly for the tree and Byrd the road was widened during the late 80′s and the tree did not survive. I guess that he and the tree live on in this and several other of his paintings
.
Brigham Young University’s Herald B. Lee Library added a couple of paintings of Broken Bow Arch by both myself and my dad to their permanent collection a few years ago. In some future blog entry I will try and feature those four paintings.

A couple years ago my mother planned a family hike down to the arch for old times sake the group included my mother, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. More than 30 decedents of the artist, Byrd Bartholomew made the trip. As the last of the group was leaving the arch to hike back up out of the canyon I snapped this photograph. (This link will show you the location.)

Just for fun a reader in Texas e-mailed me an image of her Byrd Bartholomew version of Broken Bow. Thanks Amy.

Wow! It has been months since I posted anything new. Like almost everyone, I have been busy. I have been helping my students complete their portfolios, visiting Cozumel, getting my yard in order and the list could go on.
I thought I would restart my blog by posting another painting by my father, Byrd Bartholomew. This painting has an interesting story. The composition is a view from south of Mount Nebo with one of Byrd’s trademark twisted junipers. He painted it in the early sixties and donated it to our local church. I remember seeing it every Sunday when I was a kid and feeling proud that my father’s painting was hanging in our church building. Sometime in the early seventies church leaders decided to remove original art from all the buildings in our area. The painting would have been sent to the garbage dump or perhaps the local thrift store (Deseret Industries for those of you from Utah). One of my mother’s good friends was the local woman’s church group leader (ward Relief Society president). She saw the painting and retrieved it from the discard pile and attempted to return it to Byrd. Byrd knew that she really loved the painting and promptly told her that it was now hers to keep forever. I understand that it is still a treasured work of art in their home even though the original rescuer and her husband have passed away Their children and grandchildren still love and enjoy the painting.
My dad only sold a very few of the works of art he made. He made hundreds of oil paintings, sculptures, drawings and watercolors. He gave them away freely with only one stipulation that when the recipient grew tired of the art work they should return it. I only know of one living recipient who actually returned a painting.

This oil painting by my father, Byrd Bartholomew hangs where I can see it every day.  It is a wonderful stylized view of Mt. Nebo with Mt. Timpanogos  off in the distance. I believe he painted it sometime in the late fifties or early sixties. I love the way he organized his shapes he really designed his space well. The Juniper tree represented here is pretty tame compared to the fantastic forms he explored in his later works.  Another aspect of this painting which I enjoy is the progression of color  from warm to cool and value  from dark to light as you travel into the painting. This painting is a textbook example of the atmospheric perspective as described by Leonardo da Vinci .

Check back soon to see my latest Utah landscape painting efforts.  See what small works I have for sale at my ebay store.  If you are interested in any of my available works please contact me.

I just browsed through the book “Painters of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts”
By Donna L. Poulton, Vern G. Swanson It was fun to see my work in the book and I was happy to see that my dad, Byrd Bartholomew was also included in the book although there must have been a misunderstanding about which painting they were publishing because the painting in the book is of Broken Bow arch in Willow Creek, not Bemnet arch over in Davis Gulch. However that is not a problem. Byrd painted them both numerous times and is more than deserving of any attention his painting efforts receive. He was a great example of a dedicated artist. Though little money or attention came his way as a painter he just kept on making paintings right up till the end. People who have an example of his work are dang lucky. I have included one of my dads paintings below.
Byrd Bartholomew’s oil painting of Utah’s Rainbow Bridge completed in 1966.