Trailbound Special Edition | June 2026
Photo by Max Romey / Trailbound Sketches / Flattop Mountain (Peak 2), Anchorage, Alaska (2022)
Hi Friends!
In Alaska, we are preparing to celebrate the longest day of the year: the summer solstice and the glorious midnight sun.
For Anchorage, solstice officially begins at 12:24 AM on Sunday, June 21st.
☀️ Solstice Day Timeline (Anchorage)
Sunrise: 4:20 AM
Sunset: 11:42 PM
Nighttime: The sky never reaches total darkness. Instead, we get a magically extended "golden twilight" that must be painted!
🎨 The Inspiration Behind the Art
Before my wife Eve and I had two boys to chase after, we spent 24 hours high up in the mountains with family to soak up the midnight rays.
That unforgettable trip inspired me to create three massive paintings. Take a look at the photos to see the original mountain memory, plus the finished pieces that many of you now have hanging on your walls at home!
Photo by Lindsey Gerlach / Forget Me Not Films / Max with his three Summer Solstice Paintings (2022)
Since 2022, I’ve been eager to paint the glow of summer’s beginning for 24 continuous hours. With my family’s blessing, that is exactly what I plan to do!
🏔️ For Trailbound Members
We just soft-launched yesterday! If you are a new member, I posted the exact mountain location of my studio-for-a-day on the Membership Home Page under Upcoming Special Events. Come say hello if you are in the area!
🎥 Watch the 24-Hour Livestream
You don't need to be in Alaska to experience the midnight sun. I am livestreaming the entire 24-hour adventure to push my creative limits—and test our broadcast technology!
Our community can check in on my progress at any point during the day.
Where to watch: YouTube & Twitch links will be sent on Friday
When it starts: June 20th at Midnight (Saturday night)
🏆 Join the Midnight Art Quest
Are you ready to join me in an epic 24-hour painting marathon? Grab your supplies and paint alongside me from home. We can cheer each other on as we push through the night!
How to join the community chat:
Discord: Jump into the #wild-art-quest category under 🏆 Art Challenges
Email: Simply reply directly to this message with your solstice goals!
A quick trial run from last Friday night—it's going to be a colorful 24 hours! ☀️
🎨 The New Trailbound Membership
For over a year, our community has asked how to best support our mission to "paint it forward."
This membership is also deeply personal to me. In time, it will help fund my quest to honor my late Grandmother Lu—an adventurous plein air artist who traveled the globe with a sketchbook in hand.
Rather than using third-party platforms like Patreon, we built this membership entirely in-house on our own website (huge thanks to Producer Jennifer!). This ensures 100% of your support goes directly toward funding the art, education, and community spaces we build together.
🌟 Member Perks & Future Plans:
Early Art Access: I am officially opening up to the idea of making my original art available and offering limited-edition fine art prints. Members will always get first pick.
Growing Community: As our membership expands, we will launch private, dedicated spaces on Discord for members to connect.
Direct Impact: You provide a sustainable way to help keep our creative projects independent and thriving.
📺 Watch my short video here to learn more and join us!
🌱 Building This Together
We are intentionally starting with a simple foundation. Our goal is to build this membership experience with our community, rather than just for you. Your feedback will shape what we create next!
📦 Annual Member Thank-You Gifts
We are officially preparing thank-you gifts for our Annual Members! While international shipping can always be a bit of a hurdle, we have some creative ideas in the works that we hope our Canadian and global friends will love.
Thank you for years of encouragement, challenging us to be better, and supporting however you can. Building Trailbound Sketches together ensures we can keep creating art together for years to come.
Keep an eye out for a Friday email with more Midnight Sun Livestream details!
Painting it forward — Together!
Team Trailbound 🎨
Photo by Max Romey / Trailbound Sketches / Flattop Mountain (Peak 2), Anchorage, Alaska (2022)
🔔 How to Get Livestream Notifications
Choose your preferred platform below and follow these quick steps to turn on alerts.
🟣 Twitch
Search for and follow Trailbound Sketches.
Click the Bell Icon on our profile page.
Check your personal account settings to ensure "Live" notifications are enabled for email or mobile push.
🔴 YouTube
Go to our channel, click Subscribe, and select the Bell Icon.
Set the bell notification to "All" to receive every alert.
On any upcoming scheduled stream, click the "Notify me" button for a direct reminder.
💬 Discord
Scroll to the bottom of the server menu to the In Reel Time section.
Right-click on the #livestreams channel.
Select Notification Settings from the pop-up menu.
Click All Messages.
