Painting at the Edge: Production Update

Traveling mostly on foot, by raft, or canoe English artist Tony Foster explores the most remote areas of the world. Facing severe weather conditions and arduously searching for the perfect perch, his passion for painting in dangerous locations has nearly ended his life on several occasions. The documentary follows Tony through the ups and downs of his journeys, relentlessly creating art based on what he finds.

Brief backstory on how I got involved with the project:

Last April I received an email from Seattle U Film Studies about a screening at the Northwest Film Forum with free admission to students. After the film I introduced myself to the director, David Schendel and offered to work on a film over the summer. His response was, “if it can be in San Francisco, then sure” (fortunately I was able to stay with my amazing sister). Without a clue as to what I was getting into I jumped on board; I wrote grant proposals, pitched the project to potential sponsors and researched the subject matter meticulously.

I spent the summer in San Francisco cutting my teeth with a front row view of how a film is produced. The communication and management skills I’ve always said were the most valuable part of my business experience and education came in handy- as did my ability to handle rejection! I contacted dozens of organizations every day, first by email then with a phone call. I learned the importance of understanding your audience and leading with a strong hook. Marketing and PR folks at major organizations are busy. Without cutting through the clutter and standing out from the dozens or even hundreds of daily inbound requests there is no chance of success. For example, I went from sending prospective partners a generic three paragraph email to a customized three sentence hook. The arrangement worked out well as I proved my value to the team and took on more responsibilities as a co producer.

Since last summer we’ve built a groundswell of momentum and interest around Painting at the Edge by involving partners and supporters who share Tony Foster’s conservation ethic. In September, we secured fiscal sponsorship from the Redford Center  (https://redfordcenter.org/films/tony-foster), which allowed the project to begin receiving tax-deductible donations. Our sponsors Sawyer Products, Biolite Energy, Packit Gourmet, MPowerd and Peak Design supplied product donations and have helped by sharing updates about the project via social media channels. Ultimately, financial support from The Foster Art and Wilderness Foundation (TheFoster.org) and several private donors made this project a reality.

Production Begins

Production began in June with a trip to the North East. Our nimble crew of three traveled through four states in four days, putting in long but rewarding days to capture some amazing footage.

First, we interviewed well known painter Kevork Mourad (https://www.kevorkmourad.com/) at his studio in Brooklyn.

Kevourk provided his impression of Tony’s work and spoke broadly about what it is like to be a painter in today’s art world. Kevork is also deeply influenced as Tony is, by a sense of place.

After driving to Boston, we walked around Walden Pond with Tony’s long-time friend and Thoreau scholar, Parker Huber. Parker’s recollection of their donkey running away on the John Muir Trail is hilarious! Later that day we interviewed Tony’s supporter and dear friend Peggy Brace. Peggy met Tony while loaning him a canoe so he could paint the Concord River.

Following a needed night of rest, we hiked to the summit of Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire in search of a location where Tony painted nearly thirty years ago. Finding the exact spot wasn’t as easy as we anticipated. We got an idea of how Tony’s creative process works. The photos we took could not evoke the same emotion the painting does.

Next, we visited the Thomas Cole Museum in Catskill, NY.  We had a wonderful chat with curator, Kate Menconeri. Kate helped in placing Tony’s work on the timeline of landscape artist/conservationists, referring to Thomas Cole as the first “proto-environmentalist.” We finished up the East Coast tour filming a conversation between Tony and Elisabeth Fairman in Tony’s new exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art.

East Coast Success

We returned from the East Coast trip energized about the film’s progress. I drove from San Francisco to Sun Valley, Idaho, where many of Tony’s friends and supporters call home. We attended the opening of Tony’s exhibition at Gail Severn’s art gallery and filmed Tony’s well-attended lecture at the Ketchum Library.

The crew departs from Sun Valley…

After a day digging fossils in Rock Springs, Wyoming, (Tony’s paintings often include artifacts, objects and talismans inside the frame below the painting) we drove to Gates of Ledore, met the rest of the crew and rigged the rafts for five days on the Green River.

Rafting the Green River from Gates of Lodore

I wore a few hats on the river, and a PFD- the whole time!…

1.  DIT- managing footage and backing up data to mirrored hard drives.
2. Time lapse photography
3. 2nd camera operator …and I even got to row the camera boat through class three rapids 🙂

The Green River trip is the narrative spine of the story, offering transition points to branch out to other periods and events in Tony’s life.

We also witnessed and started to understand Tony’s artistic process; he is remarkably patient. He sits, hour after after, only stopping for tea breaks. Many of Tony’s expedition-minded friends attribute their own patience and appreciation of place to their time spent exploring with Tony.

Each day when we arrived at camp Tony would run off, set up his tadpole tent and scout for a painting location. Constrained by time and limited to painting near camp, we witnessed real challenges that accompany Foster’s artistic process.

Five days on the river allowed the film team to focus completely on the task at hand. Our synergy and enthusiasm disguised the fact that we had never worked as a unit before. Also key to our success was the team’s diverse skills and ideas. Pictured below is 4 Corner Film Logistics operating a Movi stabilizer on a crane mounted on the front of the camera boat.

We also had the privilege of two expert geologists on the trip Matt Leidecker and Emily Lea. These two oozed their knowledge and passion around geology all week. We learned about how oil forms, what the “Great Unconformity” is, how rapids are created and much more.

Matt:

We got off the river, said good-bye to the rest of the group, and in a typical Tony Foster fashion found ourselves waking up at 4:45 a.m. the next day. We drove two hours back to a location where Tony is currently working on a large format piece above Steamboat Rock.

Steamboat Rock from Echo Park

The trip wouldn’t have been possible, and Tony’s career as a painter would not be the same without a passionate community of supporters (many of whom live in Sun Valley) and an unwavering life partner, Ann. Although Tony is the only one applying pigment to paper, dozens of people contribute to these magnificent paintings.

Next steps forward:

Although there is more work to be done, the bulk of production is “in the can.” The film’s next stage follows Tony back to his home in Cornwall, England in September. In the coming weeks we will release short video clips, still images and an updated teaser (see previous teaser video: Teaser) as we continue to collaborate with our partners and sponsors.

Reflecting on an intensive six weeks of production offers me the chance to appreciate many valuable lessons learned. I am thankful for the opportunity to develop my own craft as a filmmaker alongside talented artists like Tony Foster, Harlen Taney, Justin Clifton and Samuel Crossley. Going forward I intend to be more present and patient, especially with the camera in my hand.

A bonus of filming with Tony the past few weeks has been seeing night skies like this! ->