WILLIS GREINER
Artist Profile

Lewis W. (Willis) Greiner, Jr. has been an avid outdoorsman, amateur astronomer and nature photographer for many years. Willis moved to Colorado in 1972 and describes himself as a "dyed-in-the-wool Westerner." "In the West, many have a relationship with land and nature that I deeply admire and respect; further, the landscape and natural environment inspire my soul and hopefully my creative sense," says Greiner.

Chronicling special astronomical events and "shooting" animals and nature scenes started the well-traveled Greiner on his creative exodus. He has been commonly accompanied by his sons Seth (now 38 in mid-2017) and Larry (now 35) on expeditions to Utah's Canyonlands, Idaho's Wild and Scenic Rivers and Montana's backwoods. In the summer of 1991 they observed the Total Solar Eclipse from the Baja, Los Cabos, Mexico. More of Greiner's astronomical photography can be seen at astrophotographs.com.

Recent expeditions with his partner and wife Cheryl Price have allowed photographic exploration of the pre-Columbian cultures rising from the great jungle wilderness of Mesoamerica. Willis has also teamed with Cheryl to create a sort of "hand-painted" photography which they have coined photofantasia.

Three self-guided floats through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado resulted in an extensive photographic and literary interpretation of this multifaceted adventure.

"Visits" by wayfaring comets have provided additional photographic material: expeditions recently to Malaysia, Borneo, Curacao and Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles), Alaska and Zimbabwe have allowed for further photographic investigations of wilderness, underwater and "cosmic" topics.

Greiner and several artist friends started the Shadow Mountain Center for the Arts and Humanities (now Arts Alive!) in Conifer, Colorado. His work has been exhibited at the Center's cooperative Gallery and appears in other galleries and private collections throughout the country.

Greiner's belief in a living harmony between sky, earth and traditional organisms is his inspiration. His photography and writing are attempts to chronicle (and celebrate!) this harmony.

Click here for a partial list of Galleries and Exhibitions.