40 swollen on the last day that my shoes wouldn’t fit. This was when I realized that Tony had a level of wilderness survival skills that I had never encountered before—even with these tiny flying vampires, he did not skip a beat in his routine. As usual, he awoke before dawn and went down to the river for a quick wash up and then briskly hiked to his painting spot to heat some tea and continue painting with clouds of mosquitoes in hot pursuit. This is a level of artistic tenacity most people simply don’t have. The second camp was made next to Green River Lakes, the glacier-fed headwaters of the Green River. It was here that I witnessed the wonder that is Tony Foster “finding a painting.” Karen McWhorter, the brilliant curator of Watercolour Diaries from the Green River, had prepared us mentally and equip- ment-wise for several days of rough camping deep in the wilderness between the two Green River lakes. This included bear cans and bear spray, since it was grizzly territory, which we were reminded of frequently by the claw marks 14 feet above us on some of the trees. Karen had found on her previous hikes T ony Foster, the film crew (Joe Pavlo, Rachel Burton, and Robin Serrahn), and I covered a lot of land and water during the summer of 2022. While moving along trails long and treacherous (or some inviting and deceptively easy), stories emerge that interweave past, present, and times to come. When Tony packs his backpack for an expedition, he never forgets two things: Irish Breakfast tea and his warm sense of humor. During his clockwork tea breaks, Tony’s anecdotes remind us about his past expeditions. “Does your genius wake you up in the morning?” This is the question Parker Huber asked Tony one day when Tony was enthusiastically describing a landscape he painted many, many years ago. Having met Parker, I’m certain he asked it with a sly smile and a laugh. He was a man of sublime humor who had served as president of the Thoreau Society. Tony recounted this story one day on the trail some- where in Idaho, Wyoming, or Utah. I mention it because it is a great example of the relationships Tony has built during his years exploring Planet Earth. Such deep friendships, where subtle jabs and jokes take on different meanings and close friends develop languages of their own. At this point I have met and interviewed most of Tony’s close friends, and they have an important thing in common: they are all amazing individuals with a deep understanding of our relationship with our planet. I was quite honored when I realized that Tony had accepted me into this remarkable circle of artists and scientists. The Green River expedition consists of four sepa- rate adventures. The first section (which Tony and I refer to as “the yacht party” when comparing it to the more difficult Canyonlands trip, the fourth and most challenging expedition) was five nights and six days of rafting through Dinosaur National Monument, starting at the Gates of Lodore. The weather was perfect, and the river was low and not exceptionally challenging to raft. Tony started a new painting at each of the five camps in that section of river. We did have a run-in with clouds of aggressive mosquitoes, which were somehow able to pierce the thickest of clothing and wait patiently outside our tent for the slightest crack in an unzipped zipper. My unprotected feet were so Production Notes TONY FOSTER: PAINTING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD David Schendel WRITER, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, SCHENDEL FILMS David Schendel is an award-winning California-based filmmaker whose documentaries include Tony Foster: Painting at the Edge of the World. David accompanied Foster on most of his Green River Journey and interviewed his friends, family, and colleagues in both Great Britain and the United States. A short from the film is included in Tony Foster: Watercolour Diaries from the Green River. For more information, visit schendelfilms.com.
