It’s that time of year again! Southern Oregon Open Studio Tour is October 19 and 20, 2024, from 12-5.
Click HERE to download a map of all participating studios.
Join me at Project Space - 106 Talent Ave #5.
This is a free event, a great time to shop for new work, find out about classes and get out having a great time with friends!
See you soon!
Vesper Meadow Biocultural Restoration Preserve: Bovine Beach
Observations Through Art with Sarah F. Burns
by Jennifer Nitson
Sarah F. Burns is inspired to tell a story of this place through art. She first encountered Vesper Meadow when looking for a place to bring students to paint in early 2019 and immediately became immersed in its history and mission.
Spanning about 1,000 acres in the Southern Oregon Cascades, the preserve consists of two large meadows and some forestland, including 80 acres of clearcut forest where native shrubs and seeds have been planted to aid the restoration process.
The meadows and forests are home to a diverse array of wildlife, including an elk herd, sandhill crane, extremely rare tumbleweed lichen and much more - including imperiled species like the Vesper Sparrow, for which the preserve is named, as well as the Mardon Skipper butterfly.
Before restoration work began, the main meadow had been significantly impacted by out-of-date ranching practices from the past century. Willows and shrubs were removed from the banks of creeks to allow cattle easy access. This caused water to move through creeks too quickly, eroding the soil and impacting the habitat of the entire meadow, exacerbating drought and problems for wildlife.
“I was blown away with inspiration by what I was learning and seeing,” said Sarah. “The natural world and our interactions with it is a major source of inspiration for my work. This added knowledge of a place deepens my connection with it and makes my art more meaningful.”
Working in plein air using traditional European methods of oil painting, Sarah has returned to the same place in the Vesper Meadow Restoration Preserve each July for five years in a row, painting a curve along Latgawa Creek called Bovine Beach. Her annual paintings show the continued history and development of this place, illustrating natural and human-influenced changes in the landscape from year to year.
“I am surprised that they tell an interesting story already,” said Sarah. “I thought it would take 10 years or more to show variety, and I was surprised to see how different amounts of rainfall and temperature from year to year are evident in how green the meadow is.”
In 2023, Vesper Meadow staff and volunteers installed a post-assisted log structure, known as PALS, at the bend in the river and Sarah’s painting that year is a testament to the improvement of the creek bed and banks.
“With water being a crucial resource, restoration work is a priority, and it is important to keep water on the land,” she said. “PALS mimic the work of beavers by slowing down the water, causing sediment to gather which nourishes plants and causes the creek to flow more shallow and wider. This feeds the camas and other meadow plants and flowers.You can already see a difference.”
During the past five years Sarah’s relationship with Vesper Meadow has deepened and grown.
“I have made A LOT of paintings, hosted painting workshops, artist meet-ups, attended concerts and this year I joined their board of directors,” she said. “I look forward to painting, and being a part of this place for years to come.”
Sarah F. Burns is an observation-based painter from Southern Oregon. She has exhibited in group exhibitions at the Schneider Museum of Art, The Maryhill Museum, The Arkell Museum, Grants Pass Art Museum, Coos Art Museum and other notable institutions. When she is not in her studio, she teaches online at classroom.sarahfburns.com and in-person at Project Space in Talent, OR. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Southern Oregon Magazine, among other publications. In 2016, she was awarded the Hudson River Fellowship by the Grand Central Atelier.
For information about the Vesper Meadow Preservation Reserve, visit vespermeadow.org.
Next week I’m taking the show on the road! It’s plein air season and this big canvas is going up to Mount Ashland.
Read MoreI used to love painting everyday scenes the towns I live in and around. I tended to paint older, but not “historic” places. Frequently I would paint something - that I truly thought was beautiful - and it would be torn down. Once, I heard a woman who was showing my paintings in her shop say, “Sarah paints ugly places and makes them beautiful.” I was too polite to tell her that was not exactly right. I always thought these places were beautiful. It hurt me to see my subjects torn down and replaced by something new. A few times I tried to paint newly built places, and sometimes it worked out. But I can never paint something I think is ugly. When I choose a subject, it’s always because I love something about it.
Read MoreIt’s wonderful when clouds have lovely flat-bottoms. What you’re seeing is the exact spot where the temperature has cooled enough to cause water vapor to condense and become a cloud. Sometimes is very pronounced - which is so cool to see and fun to paint.
Pilot Rock, Viewed From Mount Ashland, Oil on Panel, 7.5” x 10”
I made this painting on Mount Ashland, from the back side of the bunny-hill, looking east toward Pilot Rock.
Artist’s Guide to Clouds posters - sized 17” x 22” matte, archival.
PRE-ORDER ONLY - until April 24, 2024 - I will not have these in stock - purchase for a limited time only!
Posters will ship out in tubes on or before April 30.
Springtime in Southern Oregon means the Oregon White Oaks are leafing out. It’s perfect weather for taking a walk.
Read MoreMarch 1-24, 2024, Thursday - Sunday from 11-4.
Opening Party Friday March 1, 5-8 pm.
88 N. Main st, Ashland, OR
Read MoreIt’s getting close to spring here in Southern Oregon, bulbs are emerging, but we could get a hard freeze anytime. There’s still time to enjoy the last coziness of winter. Do those puzzles. Schedule a Scrabble and soup date. It won’t be long before it’s time to plant gardens and bring the cactus outside!
Amaryllis and Cactus Plants, Oil on Stretched Linen, 48” x 30”
Stay Cozy! Spring will be here soon!
Walk the beach on a gray day and feel time, standing still.
Read MoreThere is so geological variety to explore in the large state of Oregon.
Read MoreHow I survived a cold and lonely night in the woods and it was all worth it because I saw a gorgeous comet and composed a painting I love.
Read MoreLearn about Vesper Meadow, 1 ,000 acres in the Southern Oregon Cascades, this property consists of two large meadows and some forest land, including 80 acres of a recent clear cut forest where native shrubs and seeds were recently planted to aid the restoration process.
Read MoreMeet Jens Sehm, the fine furniture craftsman who makes my frames.
Read More
