The Story Behind “Sailing Sedona’s Sky”

“Sailing Sedona’s Sky” is the second oil painting I created after returning to art following a six-year hiatus. Like “Creekside Cathedral,” this piece was painted in the same tiny studio—a narrow room with one window that became the birthplace of my emerging-artist journey.

I captured this scene from the deck of a friend’s home in West Sedona, overlooking Coffee Pot Rock. That evening, the sky showed sweeping movement—streaks of light and drifting shapes that seemed to glide effortlessly. When my good friend Joe Bongiorno of Piano Haven saw the finished painting, he said, “It looks like the birds are just sailing,” which inspired the piece’s name.

What I didn’t expect was that “Sailing Sedona’s Sky” would become a milestone. It was one of twelve original works chosen for the American Contemporary Art Show in Guangzhou, China, where all twelve paintings sold, including this one.

A Panoramic Vision of Sedona’s Light

As a panoramic landscape painting, “Sailing Sedona’s Sky” stretches wide across Sedona’s horizon, creating a sense of motion that only a wide-format Sedona artwork can deliver. The sweeping gestures of cloud and color naturally complement the panoramic format.

Connected to “Creekside Cathedral” and My Return to Art

“Sailing Sedona’s Sky” shares a spiritual kinship with “Creekside Cathedral,” my very first oil painting. “Creekside Cathedral” later became a milestone piece, licensed to Warner Bros. for a media series and sold during the same China art show. Because “Sailing Sedona’s Sky” was Also one of the twelve originals chosen and sold there, the two paintings still remain. permanently linked.

I’ve lived in Sedona since 2003, and the desert’s luminous skies continue to influence my Sedona Paintings and Mystical Paintings. Part of Sedona’s Expanding Artistic Landscape
This panoramic artwork is ideal for collectors looking for Southwest art, Sedona Wall Art, and panoramic desert landscape paintings.

The Heart of It All

Art lights up the same part of your brain as

falling in love—it’s an unforgettable feeling.

Collector’s Note:

Available as giclée art prints, canvas gallery wraps, Luminous Metal Prints, and Gift Art Photo Plaues through Sedona Art Studios.