Artists of Zion
Paula Swain
Plein Air Oil Painter
Paula Swain has been painting Zion in oil for more than a decade, from the park's own Plein Air Paint Out to large-scale studio canvases shown at Worthington Gallery, a short walk from the south entrance.
From a Painting Family to the Bedside and Back
Paula grew up in Seattle in an artistic family - her father, George Kosanovic, holds an MFA, and her mother taught elementary art and worked as a draftsman at Boeing. Family vacations meant plein air painting trips along the Oregon and Washington coast and, just as often, in Southern Utah.
She trained as a registered nurse at the University of Utah and San Juan College of Nursing in Farmington, New Mexico, graduating in 1992 on the Dean's List, and spent her career as an RN and adjunct faculty member alongside her painting. She's since shifted to painting full time, and describes her style as "sometimes fauvism" - a semi-representational expressionism that blends Cezanne's blocks of color with pointillism.
A Decade of Painting Zion in Oil
Paula has painted in Zion since at least 2013, when she took part in the park's own Plein Air Paint Out (Quick Draw) for three straight years (2013-2015), followed by the Zion Invitational Plein Air in November 2017 and another painting trip to the park in November 2018.
Recent canvases from Zion Plein Air 2025 include Wandering Soul (36 x 36in, oil), alongside sold works Zion Love, Zion Blues, and Rhythm of the River - all large-scale, saturated interpretations of the canyon in the $4,800-$5,400 range.
Recognition Beyond Utah
Her work has appeared in Western Art Collector Magazine ("Lay of the Land," March 2013, and again in March 2014) as well as Art of the West, Southwest Art, and Plein Air Magazine, and is now held in private collections across the US, Europe, Japan, England, Ireland, Korea, Canada, India, Brazil, and China. She's placed at numerous regional plein air events since 2010, including honors at Plein Air Moab, the Sedona Paintout, and Driggs, Idaho.
Where to Find Her Work
Paula is represented by Worthington Gallery in Springdale - a short walk from Zion's south entrance - along with Kolb Studio at the Grand Canyon's South Rim, Gallery 24 in Torrey, Artisan's Gallery in Cedar City, Relics Framemakers & Gallery in Holladay, Sedona Arts Center, and Moab Made.