1) Charron packs his painting and camping supplies into the wilderness on the backs of his four llamas. He sets up his plein air studio in the field and paints from direct observation. He brings photographs of the subjects home for larger paintings done in his studio during the winter months.
2) His traditionally approached landscape paintings are often imbued with subliminal affirmations written in cursive, and then masked by the organic nature of the paint.
3) Charron is both a realist and a conceptualist, capturing the wilderness as he sees it, while touching it with a sense of spirituality.
4) Charron was commissioned by Valley Fine Art to paint plein air the most popular fishing spots of Aspen’s Roaring Fork Valley. His previous works focused intensely on Colorado’s Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, near the Colorado-Wyoming border.
5) V8 is Charron’s preferred beverage for sustained nourishment on his painting pack trips.
6) Charron refers to his paintings as Sensory Communions, and he believes that there is a worldwide spiritual awakening underway, founded in ancient wisdom.
7) Two pieces, “Aspen Mountain from Red Mountain” and “Aspen Mountain at Sunset,” were painted plein air on the deck of the house Charron stayed at while he was in Aspen painting the fishing spots.
8) Charron set up a syndicate in which collectors underwrite his expeditions in exchange for down payments on prospective paintings. Charron guarantees a certain number of paintings to come from a specific expedition, and the collectors draw numbers to see who picks first. Charron has used this method for over a decade and has sold out of his paintings every year.
Mia Valley and her team at Valley Fine Art are featuring several of Michael Charron’s paintings this season. Click here to see the offering.
If Charron’s stunning plein air paintings of fly fishing spots in the Aspen area have inspired you to wet a line, you can learn from an expert guide at Aspen Outfitting Company