What does the Green River in Utah have in common with an art exhibit in England? Nothing thanks to COVID-19. Internationally renowned nature artist Tony Foster has spent a 40-year career painting the world’s wilderness. He was scheduled to take a canoe trip down the Green River in Utah to make paintings for an exhibit in the Whitney West Museum in Wyoming for 2022. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had him stuck at home across the ocean and the trip was cancelled. Rather than waste time, he decided to paint around his home town, challenging himself to find a different route everyday. Foster himself said “I found places I have never seen before.” He called it his Lockdown Diary featuring 56 Days which he displayed in the village’s former phone box, acquired by Tony and other villagers in 2018 and christened the ArtBox. He then offered limited prints that raised over 25,000 pounds (Close to 33,000 dollars) that he gave to three wildlife charities. While we hope to see his work depicting the Green River someday it is still nice to know that something beautiful came from the change in plans.
