Independent researcher and preservation advocate, Alanna Blu has spent the last year reconstructing the life, artwork, and legacy of Martin Bowden through archival newspapers, oral histories, historical photographs, maps, genealogy, and community contributions. Her work has helped bring renewed public attention to Bowden’s Painted Canyon near Trinidad, Colorado — a remarkable outsider art environment created over nearly forty years by a self-taught immigrant artist.

Through ongoing documentation, public outreach, historical research, and preservation advocacy, Alanna’s project has connected descendants, former visitors, historians, archaeologists, and art communities across Colorado and beyond. Her work focuses on preserving both the historical record and the cultural memory surrounding one of Colorado’s most overlooked artistic landscapes.