Century’s Final Song Featured in Beverly Kievman Copen’s Newspaper Column
I’m honored that my painting was recently featured in a newspaper column by my friend, photographer and author Beverly Kievman Copen.
Bev’s award-winning photograph, Sunset of the Century, originally published in Arizona Highways, inspired me to take an unforgettable Sedona moment and reinterpret it through my own eyes and my fluorescent acrylic style.
When One Artist Inspires Another: Century’s Final Song
In her column, Bev asks a wonderful question: “What does the word inspire mean to you?”
For me, this painting became a perfect example of how inspiration can travel from one creative person to another.
I wasn’t trying to reproduce Bev’s photograph. I wanted to capture the feeling it gave me—the dramatic Sedona monsoon sky, the century plant in its once-in-a-lifetime bloom, and that fleeting moment when everything seemed to come together.
From there, my imagination took over. I added my own colors, patterns, a whimsical hummingbird, and the fluorescent acrylics that give the original painting another personality under black light.
From an Arizona Highways Photograph to Century’s Final Song
What makes the story behind the finished painting especially meaningful to me is that it became about much more than creating another Sedona painting.
A photograph taken years ago inspired a new work of art and, along the way, strengthened a wonderful friendship.
Thank you, Bev, for giving me permission to use your photograph as inspiration—and now for sharing the story of Century’s Final Song with your readers.
Discover the story and artwork behind Century’s Final Song →