A painting by Patricia Gifford was one of the winners and will be featured on a poster for National Public Lands Day.
Dennis Schmidling
A few weeks ago, 40 painters gathered in a meadow near Bend, Oregon. At 10:30 am, an official stamped each person's canvas. The painters had four hours from that moment to finish and frame an original work of art.
For the last three years, the Deschutes National Forest and the National Forest Foundation have hosted this plein-air painting competition, in an effort to connect new groups of people to the forest and to develop a different style of outdoor education.
Kathy Deggendorfer, an artist who helps organize the event, says Forest Service biologists participate and share their knowledge of plant life and geology with the painters.
"It makes a difference, to learn about the structure of a plant or an ecosystem. It change the way you choose to paint it," she says.
The Deschutes National Forest uses the competition's winning painting in a poster to publicize conservation efforts for the Metolius and Whychus rivers. Forest service staff say they often use the paintings to add a little color and feeling to otherwise dry environmental policy documents.
The paintings from this year's competition will be on display at the Sisters Art Works Gallery September 24th. The event near Bend is the only plein-air painting competition in the country sponsored by a National Forest, but outdoor painting societies in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho host several other competitions.
