Moran Point – South Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona 18″ x 36″ oil painting by Tom Haas

Golden Evening – South Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona 18″ x 36″ oil painting by Tom Haas

After the Rain – South Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona 18″ x 36″ oil painting by Tom Haas

QUESTION: Why did I choose to paint burros in the Grand Canyon as they are generally no longer there?

In the 6th or 7th grade, I read Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry, a book based on actual incidents in the life of a Grand Canyon burro.

Though most of the wild burros at the Grand Canyon are gone, I did see them occasionally in the early 2010’s when I frequently traveled from Phoenix to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. While painting on location, I saw bands of 5 – 20 burros at a time. On one trip, I was isolated from the road where a few burros took notice of me and came up for a closer look. After a nice visit, my new friends figured out I didn’t have any treats for them and left presumably in search of food.

I generally think of my work as a broad sense of realism. I’m drawn to the “process” of painting, not always a particular fact or period of time. However, it’s true that my Arizona paintings have been influenced by my deep interest in the geology, botany and history of the Southwest. Viewers of my work are welcome to finish what I’ve started with their own stories. That’s the fun of impressionism.

TOM HAAS (b. 1952)
Arizona Artist

On Thu, Jan 19, 2017 at 10:52 AM, Abbie Harlow wrote:

Mr. Haas,
I hope all is well. My name is Abbie Harlow, I am a masters student at the University of Oklahoma. I am currently writing my masters thesis over the removal of feral burros from Grand Canyon National Park. I came across your paintings Moran Point, Golden Evening, and After the Rain. They are all beautiful!

I wondered if I could ask why you chose to paint burros in the canyon, as they are generally no longer there.

I also wanted to ask if you would give me permission to use an image of the Moran Point painting in my thesis, with appropriate credit of course. I think it would be a wonderful image to include with the history of burros in Grand Canyon.

Thank you so much for your time, Abbie.