In the summer of 2016, Scott Tallman Powers put most of his belongings in storage, hitched his eight-foot camper to his truck, and took off for Alaska with his dog. He was on a mission, as he always is, when he travels, to find subject matter for his paintings.

“People,” Powers says. “I was looking for native people, trappers, miners—the people of Alaska.”

Powers had intended to spend the summer there, meeting people, taking photos, and painting. But when he got there, he realized that he needed more time. The people he was looking for were in some of the most remote areas of the state, and it was both challenging and costly to go in search of them.

Powers’ travels are motivated mostly by a desire to honor the different cultures he finds each place he visits. “But also,” he says, “I’m trying to find the similarities. The indigenous people in China, for example, are remarkably similar to the people in Morocco. And the people in Guatemala are so similar to the indigenous people of China. It’s just amazing to me.”

Scott Tallman Powers (Wyoming)

Salmon Stories
Oil
20″x23″
“Joe Bigger is an interesting man. One afternoon, he and I were sitting outside the cabin he built with his own hands in Willow, Alaska. He told colorful and humorous stories of his fishing adventures, while his salmon slowly cooked in his homemade smokehouse. Fragrant smoke billowed out of the chimney and every crack in the tiny shack. Joe always keeps you hanging on every word, as he takes you on a journey through his rich and exciting life. But Joe never lets an opportunity to tell a joke pass. You will always leave with a smile on your face, after spending time with this kind man.”

Scott Tallman Powers (Wyoming)

Copper Canyon’s Wisdom
Oil
12″x12″
“This is a woman I met randomly, as we stopped for lunch along a lake high above the Copper Canyon in Mexico. She was a sweet woman, who reminded me of my own grandmother.”