(Theme Music)
[April Saylor] Welcome to Route 66, a show about the art, culture, and community that make up Arizona.
I'm your host, April Saylor, inside Ardrey Memorial Auditorium.
On today's show, we take to the sky with local photographer, Greg Brown.
[Greg Brown] This is just a wonderful view.
[April Saylor] Dive into the Flagstaff rafting community, -Yeah!
[April Saylor] And sit down with potter Joni Pevarnik. But first, we take a look at oil painter Erica Vhay,
whose paintings capture life's moments in time and physical space. Erik Sather has the story.
(Theme Music)
[Erica Vhay] I started the figurative work because I love drawing people.
(Bell Dings)
[Erica Vhay] I try to paint what I want to paint. I have tried to paint what people want, and it doesn't work out.
It just falls flat. When I'm starting a painting, I first come out and mix all of the colors on my pallet.
(Background Drums)
[Erica Vhay] These in here are all colors I use all the time with all my paintings.
(Background Drums)
[Erica Vhay] So now I'm going to paint this little portrait here. This color will be underneath all of the other colors.
And I'll go and do the whole painting with this, all the dark areas.
As I go along, the painting starts to talk to me and tell me what areas I need to be focusing on.
Do you see which areas are going to hold the interest and how the composition will come together?
Right now I can see her ear is going to be a big part of this, as well as this part of her face.
Now I'm painting in these darks and the strokes are so familiar to me that I, I don't have to think too much about it.
The brush kind of knows where to go. So, there she is. Pretty much, you know, roughed in.
But, before I add color, I add blacks. I use black very sparingly because it just can get a little overwhelming, a little dark,
but I'll just put in some of these in her hair.
I want to make sure that the hair and the face kind of flow together, and there isn't a jarring disconnect there,
like she's wearing, has a wig, or something.
So after this dark, I add my red highlights. There's a lot of red in skin tones, especially in the cheeks,
and hands, feet, any point that seems kind of have a red hue.
Put a little on the neck, usually, because there's always red on the neck.
Now I have some reds in there, I'm going to add my, my mid-tone, my tan color.
I'm going to work on her face, and this medium brush is probably about the biggest size I want to use on this face.
So, I'm seeing a shape of light color right in her neck here. I will draw that shape in and move on.
So, I can see now where I'm going with this painting. I work the same every time I do a painting. I paint the same way.
[April Saylor] To learn more about Erica and her work, visit EricaVhay.com.
Local photographer Greg Brown grew up loving flying and photography.
He has since found a great way to merge those passions. Derek Ellis has the story.
(Door Opening and Slamming)
[Greg Brown] It's always been compelling, for me. I've been flying since 1972; I learned to fly when I was in college.
Last November was my 40th year as a pilot.
Very often, people don't understand why people like me would want to fly in a small airplane.
One of the biggest thrills is the idea that I can take someone for a half-hour or a one hour ride.
They will remember for the rest of their lives.
(Yelling and Engine Starting)
[Greg Brown] People learn to fly for a variety of reasons.
(Plane Engine Sounds and Mumbling)
For me, it's the view out the window that has always been what compels me to fly.
The bird's eye view of the world from above.
This is just a, a wonderful view.
So, like every other pilot, after I take off, I'm flying the airplane using conventional controls.
And then, as I'm flying along, I might spot something that is an instantaneous opportunity for a great photo,
(Camera Shutter Sounds)
so I flip on the auto pilot, grab my camera, or I'll just fly with my feet using the rudder to control the plane while I shoot.
One of the benefits of the way I shoot, which is spontaneous,
compared to those photographers who take off on a mission to shoot a certain thing,
is that I sometimes discover things from the air,
this is a pretty special scenery, that only last an instant; that other people would never see.
[Jean Brown] This has allowed him to share the beauty from above, and get everybody else involved in these pictures.
I love the interaction between weather and the ground.
When weather adds an element to the landscape that makes it special, makes it a one-time experience.
I love geometry, I love patterns. And so, that's another thing I'm always looking for is some surprising pattern on the ground.
[Jean Brown] He focuses on one unique idea or thought and then puts it into the picture,
and when it's all perfectly choreographed, a picture comes out and it's beautiful, and it's breathtaking.
[Greg Brown] This is what I live for. Given how much flying and photography both are a part of my fiber and soul,
I would hope that I'll be in that airplane right up to the last moment.
(Sound of Plane Passing Overhead)
[April Saylor] For more info on Greg, go to GregBrownflyingcarpet.com.
(Theme Music)
[April Saylor] Up next, on Route 66, we meet a man who has rafted the Colorado River for over forty-seven years.
[Steve Merrow] His goal is to, is to get you out on the river and to get you successful at this point of his life,
that's probably the best gift that he can give to the world is helping the next generation of boaters figure it out.
[April Saylor] And later, we have singer Ryan Biter in the studio.
(Guitar Music and Singing)