Since its inception in 2017, the Guild of Adventure Painters has hosted dozens of artists on trips totaling more than 8,000 miles, facilitating hundreds of paintings along the way. The brainchild of artists Johnny DeFeo and Aaron Zulpo, the inaugural residency included one other artist, Sophia Heymans, and departed in DeFeo’s box truck on a route that took them from Denver to New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, and back to Colorado.

Two years later, thanks to generous funding and upgraded wheels, five artists joined for a 26-day drive from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California in a 30-foot RV. In 2022, the Guild ventured to the Canadian Rockies for the first time, and earlier this summer, a group of painters took on one of the U.S.’s most famous natural places, Yellowstone National Park.

During the 2022 Armory Show in New York City, the Guild was invited to present a public art activation drawing on the work made during the excursions, transforming a customized Airstream travel trailer into a white-wall exhibition space in Astor Place.

While the residency is currently invite-only, the program emphasizes public exhibitions, meetups, and workshops around the country. Earlier this year, the Guild formally organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit as they look forward to continuing the residency, excursions, exhibitions, and community programming.

You can find more on the organization’s website and keep up-to-date on Instagram.

All images © Guild of Adventure Painters